Evening star., 1922-07-09
Heard and Seen

cob LED to y frenxied search for
roasting carr one day. last week
on tho part Of . government worker
who Suddenly took . hankering for
that delicacy. y
For some neason or other nobody
in his part of town had any corn.
He finally went to . store run by
. man Of foreign extraction.
Got any roasting ears?" he asked.
What you sayT' asked the grocery
man
'I said you got any roasting earsr'
repeated the searcher.
MOT understand" said the mer-
chant
Corn. :. ~, beloved the federal en-
oh" mumbled the groceryfnan.
Then he brought out q can from
behind the counter. ,-
This it," he proceeded.
Now, to be handed q can Of corn
when you are looking for roasting
ears IL too much.
With q mufied scream Of rage and
pain. tho man in search Of roasting
ears left that store mover to return.
1t Is easy to pick up q nervous habit
II you know how. b..
A government Official recently &C
quAred one. showing that, the nerve
specialists are right when they say
1t Is easy to begin, but hard to stop
!, This man. coming out Of his. depart
rnent one afternoon. happened to look
UP ut q bright patch Of sky showing
between two high ONCE buildings. He
was always fond of nature, and took
1t wherever he could ind 1t.
As he looked, q bird flew across the
patch Of sky, directly in his field OF
vision.
The next day, when he looked at
the sky. a bird few across.
sky, and the third time q bird few
into his field of vision. his brain be-
gan to register a sinister connection
between his looking, the sky and the
bird.
From then on, whenever he looked
at the sky, he looked for the bird.
And he usually finds 1t. for 1t is
we look for.
Washington had somewhat un-
usual July I, in that 1t rained early in
stead Of late.
Those who remember their Fourth
Of Julys for many years recall that
1t usually rains in the District late
in the afternoon.
In the old days. when Washington
boys were much less safe and sane"
than they are now, rain in the after
of ~ hut IN
plosivee
That was tho theory and it was
generally believed. Why, the powder
ana the noise. and the-er. explo-
sives. you know-that was what
caused the rain!
The steady downpour Tuesday night
resulted in some pretty displays Of
| red fire" on front porches through
out the city.
This gleam is always attractive, but
coming through the downpour war
doubly attractive.
r
Chinese laundrymen used to sell
the best hrecrackers in Washington.
In the old days tho ''chinks," As
they were called by the small boys
could be depended upon every July
to have in stock the finest firecrack-
ers, imported from China
|. However disrespectfuI tho boys
were in their nomenclature, there
was no mistaking their admiration
of those Chinese flrecrackers.
And what snappers they werel
|, Carefully packed in -sed and gold
EpapAr. the crackers. wer& works Of
art, as well as fine explosives. Each
cracker was carefully made and
bound with red silk thread. The pow
der each contained was fine and
black.
Each was 80 carefully made that
II gaye the maximum bang and
each one exploded. There were no
"dubs'' among those crackers.
Tho American boys who bought
them would have nothing else.
American firecrackers.' they would
say. In scorn. They are no good"
Thus in one thing at least China
CHARLES e. TRACEwELL.