The Washington herald., 1919-03-07
Never Too Late to Mend
By DOROTHY DIX
THE WORLDS HIGHEST PAID WOMAN WRITER

A correspondent asks this ques-
tion:
Has a-woman of 80 any chance
to make up for negIecting her mind
and body in the past?
Certainly she has. Thirty is the
psychological age at which a wom-
an should sit down, and accurately
and cold bloodedly take stock of
herself. and ascertain just what her
assets and her liabilities are in
flesh. spirit and brain.
Up to 80 we conduct the business
of life on the capital of hope, youth
and a general belief that everything
is bound to turn out just as we wish
II, and that we will always be
strong and well. After 80 life is
run on a cash basis. We have to de-
liver the goods at every turn. The
]. o. US we have given to dis
sipation, to carelessness begin to
fall due, and we realize for the first
time that fate will not let us run
an endless score with existence but
that for everything we have had.
and done, we must pay at last.
Then IT is that the fear Of bank
ruptcy enters into our souls. and II
we are wise instead OF getting into
a panic. and throwing up our hands.
and making an assignment, we get
busy making up for our lost OPP
portunities and increasing our re-
sources.
Up to the time woman is 80
she has not thought much about
her body, because she has had the
vigor of youth and the beauty Of
youth that the French call devilish
beauty. Almost all young animals
including the human animal. are
pretty and attractive because they
are 1.-THE, slim, graceful and full Of
the Joy OF mere existence.
But at 30 this beauty of youth
begins to wane. A woman commences
to fatten up. or thin down, according
as she runs to the feather bed or
living skeleton type OF figure. Her
skin loses its freshness Her hair its
luster.
She has come to the parting of the
ways, and she can take one path that
leads to O premature and homely mid
die age, or the other path that lands
her in q perennial paradise Of good
looks, where the hand of time is ap-
parently stayed.
Every woman knows that her fIS-
ure is merely a matter OF the proper
food and exercise, and tnat she can
be sylphlike or tubby as she wills,
She also knows that no woman need
grow wrinkled and sallow, and lose
her hair and her teeth unless she is
too lazy and stupid to take care OF
them. Likewise she knows that IN
taking care Of her looks she must
take care of her body, for beauty and
health are almost interchangeable
terms
If the great war taught us no other
lesson IT has taught us what we can
do for our bodies-as witness the vast
number of bay-windowed, stiff, mid
dle-aged men, who Topped off forty or
fifty pounds of fat to get into khaki
and who dropped twenty years of age
in the process
Every woman Of thirty should go to
some competent doctor and have a
thorough physical examination. He
will tell her where the weak spots
are. and how to repair them, thus
shall she save herself from invalid.
ism. Then she should HE her to a
reliable beauty parlor and learn how
to conserve her good looks. It will
be money In her pocket. for attrac-
tiveness is a large part of a woman's
success in both domestic and business
circles.
The woman of so must realize.
however, that she must put her faith
in other charms than physical ones
because she IL passing out of the
living picture class, and 90 can never
compete with 20 in beauty show
Therefore it is UP TO the woman
Ioc - to ADnnmo intorontiux. 40