The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1920-12-11
The Day
We Celebrate

BIB. the bird fanoier. was saying 20
mol. ''the seasons, months. fort
nights. week ends. holidays. dog days.
Sundays and yesterdays get so jun.
bled together in the shuttle that you
never know when n year has gone
by until you're In the middle Of the
merit one"
'Iiopaiong- Bibb kept his bird
store on lower Fourth Avenue. He
was an ex.scaman and beach-cofnber
who made regular voyages 70 south
ern ports and imported personally
conducted invoices OF talking parrots
and dialectic paroduets. He had a
stiff knee. neck. and nerve. ] had
gone 10 him 10 buy n parrot 20 pre-
sent at Christmas. 70 my Aunt
Joanna
This one said I. disregarding his
homiiy on tho subdivisions Of time
athin one that seems all red, white
and blue--fo what genus of beasts
docs he belong7 lie appeals nj onco
TO my patriotism and 10 my love OF
discord In color schemes"
That's n cockatoo from Ecuador. "
raid BIB. "All he has been taught
TO say In Merry Christmns.' A sea
aonable bird He's only seven dol
larr. and III bet many n human has
stuck you for money by making the
same speech 20 you"
And then BIB laughed suddenly
and loudly.
THAT bird" he explained. -r~minds
ma. He's rot his dates mixed. He
ought 10 be saying IL pluribua
unum.' 20 match his feathers. instead
OF trying 10 work tho Santa Claus
graft IL reminds mo OF the time me
ana Liverpool Sam got our ideas Of
things tangled up on the coast OF
Costa f,ica ON account OF the weather
and other phenomena TO be met with
IN the tropics.
we were. M n wcrc. stranded on
that section OF the Spanish main
with no money 90 speak OF and no
friends that should be talked about
either. We had stocked and second.
cooked ourselves down there on n
fruit steamer from New Orleans TO
try our luck. which was discharged.
after We got there. for lack OF cvi-
dcnce. There was no work suitable
10 our instincts. 30 me and Liverpool
began to aubslst on tho red rum OF
the country and such fruit as we
could reap where ws had not sown.
II was an ailuvinn town. called Sole
dad. where there was no harbor or
future or recourse Between stc,m-
err tho town sicpt and drank rum.
II only woke up when there were
bananas to ship. IL war like n man
sleeping thru dinner until tho des.
art.
when me and Liverpool got so
low down that the American consul
wouldn't speak TO US. We knew we'd
struck b~d rock.
We boarded with a snuff brown
lady named Chica. who kept a rum.
shop and n iadica' and gcntsr rcstau.
rants in q street called tho Gale de
los Forty seven fnconsoiabie Saints.
When our credit played out there,
Liverpool. stomach overwhelming
his sensations OF nobicxe oblige.
married Chica- This kept us In rice
and fried piantain for a month; and
then chica pounded Liverpool one
morning sadly and earnestly FOR
fifteen minutes with a casserole hand
cd down from the stone ago. and we
knew that we had outwelcomcd our
liver. That night we signed an en-
gascment with Don jaime Mcspin.
osa- hybrid banana fancier Of the
place. to work on his fruit preserves
nine miles out OF town We had 90
do II or be reduced 10 sea water and
broken doses OF feed and slurnber.
Now. speaking of Liverpool Sam.
don't maiign or incxcuipate him 10
you any more than I would TO his
face. But In my opinion, when an
Englishman gets as low as he can
hos got TO dodge so that the dregs
Of other nations don't drop ballast
on him out OF their balloons. And IL
he's Liverpool Engiishman. why,
ffre-damp r. what he's got 20 look
out for. Being n natural American.
that's my personal view. But LAYER.
pool and me had much IN common.
We were without dccorous clothes or
ways and means OF existence. and, ms
the saying goes. misery certainly
does enjoy the society of accom-
plices.
Our Job on old McSpinosa's plan
tntion wns chopping down banana
stalks and loading the punches OF
fruit on the backs OF horses. Then
n native dressed up IN an alligator
hide belt. machete. and n pair Of
"A sheeting pajamas. drives 'em over
TO the coast and piles EN- up on the
beach.
You ever been IN banana grover
It's as solemn AZ q rathskeIier at Z
n. m It's like being lost behind the
scenes at one OF these mushroom
musical shows. You can't see the sky
for the foliage above you. and. the
ground is knee deep in rotten leaves,
and It's no still that you can hear
the stalks growing again after you
chop EN- down.
AT night me and Liverpool herded
In n lot OF grass huts on the edge of
lagoon with the red. yellow and
black employees OF Don Jaime. There
We lay fighting mosquitoes and lis
tening to the monkeys squalling and
the alligntors grunting and splashing
In the lagoon until daylight with
only snatchcs of sleep between
times.
We soon lost an idea of what time
Of the year II was. It's tIst about
so degrees there in December and
June and on Fridays and at mid.
night and election day any other old
tine. Sometimes II rains more than
at others, and that's all the differ.
ence you notice. A man Is liable TO
live along there without noticing any
fugiting OF tempus until some day
the undertaken calls I'm for him just
when he's beginning to think about
cutting out the gang and saving up
a little to invest In real estate.
81 don't know how long We work.
n A..