Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1922-05-05
CHAPTER |.

when johnnie comes marching home
as"'IH urrah! Hurrah!
vUavI give him a hearty welcome then,
Hurrahi Hurrah!
The men with cheers, the boys with
The ladies' they will all turn QUE,
q And well all feel gay, when Johnnie
comes marching home again!
The old man and the little boy, his
grandson, sat together in the shade of
u the big walnut tree in the front yard,
& watching the Decoration Day Pa
rade" as it passed up the long street ;
3 and when the last of the veterans was
out of sight the grandfather MUIR
INJURED the words of the tune that came
q drifting back from the now distant
band at the head of the procession.
Did you, Grandpa?" the boy asked.
did / what?"
did you all feel gay when the army
got homer"
at didn't get home all at once, pre-
4 cisely." the grandfather explained.
'When the war was over l suppose we
felt relieved, more than anything else"
You didn't feel so gay when the
war was, though, l guess~ the boy
ventured.
81 guess we didn't"
"Were you scared, Grandpa? Were
sou ever scared the Johnnies would
win"
No. We weren't ever afraid of
that"
,.yyr,I .ovo,,,+ ,.o,, o,,o,. s.,o vol y,o,,,.
self, Grandpa? mean when you were
In battle"
"0h, yes; I was" The old man
laughed Scared aplenty J"
a don't see Why" the boy said
y promptly. 81 wouldn't be scared in a
battle"
Wouldn't you?"
"Course not! Grandpa, why don't
you march in the Decoration Day pa
rade? Wouldn't they let your"
I'm not able to march any more
Too short of breath and too shaky in
the legs and TOO blind"
Il wouldn't care" said the boy. "Pd
be in the parade anyway, if was you
If I'd been in your place, Grandpa, and
they'd let me be in that parade, I'd
been right up by the band. Look
Grandpa Watch me, Grandpa! This
is the way I'd be- Grandpa"
He rose from the garden bench
where they sat, and gave a complex
imitation of what had most appealed
&c him as the grandeurs of the pro-
cession, his prancing legs Stimulating
those of the horse of the grand mar
shall, while his upper parts rendered
the drums and bugles of the band, as
well as the officers and privates of the
militia company which had been a fea-
ture Of the parade The only thing
he left out was the detachment of
veterans.
"Putty-boom! Putty-boom! Putty
Ooom-boom-booml !" he vocifers ted. as
the drums-and then as the bugles
la. ia, ra, tara !" He addressed his
FESTIVE legs: whoa, there, you
Whitley! Gee! Haw Git upI" Then,
waving an imaginary sword: Col
lumn right Farwud march, Haiti
larry harms!" He carried arms"
Show-dler harmsln He "shouldered
arms and returned to his seat.
'Ihatd be me, Grandpa. That's the
way I'd do" And as the grandfather
nodded, seeming to agree, thought
recently dismissed returned to the
mind Of the composite procession and
he asked:
Wen, why weren't you ever afraid
lne Johnnies would whip the Unions,
Grandpa?"
on we knew they couldn't"
guess So" The little boy laughed
Ulsaalnfully, thinking his question sat
lstacrorily answered. Il guess those
oLe Johnnies couldn't whipped a flea
They didn't know how to fight anv AT
all, did they, Grandpa?"
"Oh, yes, they did,"
What?' The boy was astounded.
weren't they all just regular ole COW.
ards, Grandpa?"
no" said the grandfather. "They
were pretty fine soldiers"
They were? Well, they ran away
whenever you began shootin' at ,em
didn't theyY
Sometimes they did, but most tires