The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-05-14
LEM, THE BASHFUL
He Desired Popularity, But Was
Too Timid to Go After Il.

| Is. ne WAS Idll, quincy TAU vi oC'-
enteen, with unruly hair, very
freckled, face, a mouth that was a
little larger than necessary. and, in
| general, was Of an uncommonly
awkward appearance.
He was at that age when the old
folks spoke of him as list gittin'
his growth" and he was sprouting
out in all sorts of directions. Con-
sequently his clothing did not fit
him exactly, and his long honey
wrists stuck from out his coat
! sleeves much in the same manner
as the wooden arms of a scare
crow.
When Lemuel Gibbons would
| stride slowly and deliberately
down the street, person watching
him might suddenly find himself
listening attentively for little
squeak as that of turning wheel
badly in need of oil. Lemuel Glib
bons' movements had an odd me-
chanical swing.
To top this off, Lemuel was very
bashful. He admitted this himself
for he could not do otherwise, in
asmuch as the fact was as plain as
the nose on his face (which is
saying a great deal, considering
LENS nose).
All this may be the reason Lem
uel was the butt of so many jokes
at Parker high school, Hardly a
day passed that Lemuel Gibbons
didn't furnish his fellow students
with a good laugh. He did not have
to do anything in particular to
cause merriment-his very appear
ance took care of that. For in
stance, when Lemuel would be
called upon to recite and arose
from his seat to do so, there always
was certain amount of tittering
behind handkerchiefs and hands.
Lemuel would then get so "rattled"
he would stumble miserably in his
recitation and provoke still more
laughter-much to his discomfort.
When he found himself in such
predicaments he would often wish
himself far away from all human
ity, but that was impossible. so he
would just grin broadly and bear
the humility of it all as best he
could
Lemuel Gibbons was of no vast
importance or popularity among
the students of Parker school, e&
cept as the butt of the good nat
ured jabs pOked at him.
His assistance on the committees
that arranged for banquets and en-
tertainments of his class was
never solicited. and not once dur
ing his three years at the school
had he been asked to join any OF
the various clubs organized by
members of the student body.
His name was very rarely men
toned in conversations among the
students except in connection with
some bit of humor, and never had
Lem been asked to try out for any
of the athletic teams. He lOnged
for popularity and the friendship
of his classmates, but he was not
willing to 60 after the was
afraid to.
Thus Lemuel Gibbons came to
consider himself an outsider at the
school. School interest as far as
he was concerned ran low and he
came to look upon Parker-thn
Parker that was so dear to the
popular students, those who nigh
shed a tear when forced to leave
the institution with graduation-as
more a house of torture than a
place where he might pleasantly
spend his time in study.
Then, one day he took his father
into his confidence, and told him
of the situation.
my boy" said Mr.. Gibbons,
when you don't mix more with your
classmates you are making a mis-
take. You are missing two-thirds
of your education. Now my advice
is that you try more to associate
with your fellows. Try out for
one of the teams and make it.
Your associates mean nothing by
their jokes at your expense, and
you are passing up many a fellow
who would make dandy good
friend, by not mixing with the
crowd. Get over your bashfulness,