The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-26
M EN, w o MEN
 A ND T H N c s


 ernoon was at the Lyric watching a moving picture, when without rhyme or reason, for there was nothing on the screen to suggest it. I got to thinking about persimmons.
 Can you beat it, for l wasn't even thirsty, and had no thought or wish for any persimmon beer, which, &C., cording to my way of thinking, is about the poorest makeshift that was ever brewed to tickle the palate of man. I realize however. that 'simmon beer and gingercakes by some are thought to be happy combination of drink and food.
 One of the first things to flash on my mind was the old wdage, 'The long est pole knocks the persimmon," and the saying, redolent of the soil, brought up visions of lifs in the old south, when the favorite sport among gentle men was in trying to make the best political plums fall into their laps. This was before politics became or gan1Zeu ana
 
 There is, however, another express sion which joins together two we'll known southern fruits into familiar saying: Not a huckleberry to ones persimmons," but for fear some of the rising generation are not familiar with l it's meaning l take the liberty of giv- ing it's meaning, which is but fanci- fuI way of remarking that they are not to be compared with one another" There is also the phrase: That's per simmons,"N conveying the idea, that's fine.'
 But the thing about persimmons which stood uppermost in my thoughts was something that happened more than two score years ago. It's passing strange how little bits of our boy. hood rise up to face us in odd moments l in middle age. l am not now referring | to the ones which obsess those who have reached their second childhood. If you have passed 40, you'll know whatsI am driving at. It may be you are busy at your desk when all of a sudden the matter in hand which | seemed so important falls away and for moment you are a boy again with rod or gu in hand.
 Well, sitting in theatre with men, women and children all around me, and the orchestra playing, and one of the l brated scenario showing a wonderful star. I forgot them all. I was a boy, and with my two brothers we were back of the old fairgrounds at Eufaula on a Saturday, just out for tramp, when we ran across a persimmon tree we'll fruited. John volunteered to do the climbing, but, when up about 30 feet, reached for rotten limb and came tumbling down on his back. It jolted the breath out of him, but
 broke no bones, and now whenever think of a persimmon tree, recall the scene of his mishap.
 | I spoke of some of the sayings which have clustered around the persimmon. Now, of course there are also lot of l jokes but I'll merely set out the moth- Il CT of them all. It's the story of the l IrishmaA who cane to this country to
 join his brother who had lived here
 long enough to nave home Mike on Pat $
 arrival took him out into the nearby fields to get ne wsof the "ould country.
 but, being a true son of Erin, and rum . ming across a persimmon tree, Mike
 could not resist the temptation to
 work off green one on Pat. It soon
 got in it's work, and Pat in alarm said to Mike, let's rest bit for if ye want to hear about home, I'll have to hurry as me mout' is closin' up.''
 I worked this in with the idea of 7 calling attention to the fact that while 7 the persimmon was brought into Eng land before 1929 and is cultivated, bu, rarely if ever ripens it's fruit. The name persimmon is given to the fruits l of the diospyros, I am limiting myself United States. One authority states that they are about 1S0 tropical species
 which can be classed under the family of the diospros, am limiting myself ot especially to the persimmon which comes under the order Ebenaceas am : glad I have gotten this matter settled so I can go on and talk about something
 more familiapnto me.
 . At one timej just to show that I hat
 crammed up on persimmons thought T of stringing out a long line of scientific
 terfnnology. but I got bored so quick f l ly that I felt sure 1t would have tht same effect on the majority of m, readers, so I'll stick to plain English s and feature the common or American persimmon, the tree We all know st
 well who live in the south, though f
 is found as far north as Connection
 and is said to even thrive in southeri
 Michigan. As it is known in this eli
 mate the tree grows from 50 to 1o p feet high,
 I spoke rather slightingly of sim
 mon beer, but no one who has eve : hunted possums on cold and balm!
 night and along towards the break Q a day when the sack was getting heav,
 and the air and the exercise was a work. run across . persimmon ire = laden with the plum-1ike fruit, yellow f with pink cheek on the sunny side
 and darkened bit by the frost with
 out feeling that the gods had set feast for him. If any one tells vol 8 they do not like persimmons. find ou e if they ever followed the dogs. T I'll never forget how Dr. James 0 Hawthorne. the greats pulpit orator o e the south, used to shake with laughter
 while telling of his first experience Ii
 possum hunting during his residenc II at College Park. He happened to men