Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-01-13

= ~ oAN a l1l
Mr.. Silver Badger (whatever his real
name is) Ceramic says you haven't
been to see US for ages; won't you
come in tomorrow to Sunday supper?
And if he could say 'Oh. That's aw-
fully kind Of Mrs. Parry. Do thank
her, Miss Julia, Inc say I'd love TO-"
Sometimes I imagine he's lonely
Or am I absurd? \ Why, probably
that Silver Badger has only too many
places to go to In his free time: a
jolly home of his own ~ huge family
Of sisters and brothers, and billions
of pretty girl friends to take out to
dinner! Or else he goes to- some
frightfully gay club with a lot of
amusing chums and enjoys himself
like anything! I don't know what
young men do exactly, but I'm sure
this one has the most lovely time in
h evening. AS 1 sit here alone with
Grannie l do envy him. .:Of course
he's never lonely!
The Boys Story.
Funny how lonely some of US feel
now there's no longer a War on!
Al, of course, tc think it's over
and that there's nothing more to wor-
ry about but settling down to thu
man life and ones job. They very
decently kept mine open for me in
our department or the railways, SO
I've only got to take things up where
! left them four years age. I was
just over seventeen, then; only an
inch shorter than I am now.
Those four ear seem a dream. A
dream made up of carrying on
through lots of messy jobs. and of
being beastly cold and muddy and
tired lots of the time but of laugh
ing No an6 DC Sya11 ,~1 rot<s-. -1.sx.
of fun, off and on, with the rest of the
crowd.
It's that crowd ore misses.
But there's something I miss worse,
MY pal. The fellow l used to do
everything with. Just think of the
chum L had! Went with him to school.
Came up to town with him; had digs
with him in mis- house I live in now;
started work with him. On Sundays
we'd a punt up the river. War came:
I went with him into The Infantry;
first stripe, second stripe together.
COMMISSIONS together. Went into the
r. f. c.. Pilots together. Their 1 was
wounded on the 25th. / didn't get
any letters for three weeks. Came
out OF hospital and met some man
who said to me Hard lines Harrison
getting killed" Just casually like
that, you know.
IAASo iASOH Cutting kllleU.'
=. The first I'd heard OF it. l.
Why! Wed been 80 pally it had sort
OF excluded everything else: I'd never
been real friends with anybody but
him, and there he was: gone!
i didn't know where to turn, r.
Absolutely it did me h4. haven't
known what to do with myself since.
Fellows at the Office are decent
enough, but I can't talk to any of
those az. | could to him. Nobody's
understand If one tried 10 explain how
absolutely lonely a chap like me can
feel nowadays. No real chum Of his
age any more. No proper home. No
where particular to go after work.
And
nere's what would make people
laugh II they knew, 30 Of course ones
mum about it No girl to see.
It's q fact that I don't know any
girls.
While i was 1t school / lived with
an old uncle who never wanted any
girl about his house. Then up here,
there was always my pal. For the
river and the theaters We wAre to-
gether; didn't want anything more,
Almost as soon as We Joined up we
were sent out and UP the line.
Girls have simply not come into my
life. i don't know II there are many
AcSlO"0 VI twenty like me, or II I'm
just an exception and q freak?
Fellows at the office-why. they've
shoals Of girl-friends. Question is
how to keep track Of 'em. Where
they get to know them all Is a puzzle
to me. l asked one of them: "Slim
Grantham." q decent chap; I ran into
him at the Coliseum with an AWFUL
handsome girl and he told me after
wards he'd mover seen her before tina
day. She vas working on our tele.
phone exchange. and he'd been wang
ling little chats wit, her every day.
"You can do a LIT with a voice,
Smith, you know" says this chap to
me. laughing. "Or, for the mattep Of
that. what's a Eir1 given a pair OF
eyes for? }"
laughed too: didn't want him to
put me down IL as absolute dud.i But
81 suppose I've got faddy and cranky
since my wound? P'raps those bits
Of Archie left sticking about my nut
make me different from other chaps?
For l Just don't feel / want to ret to
know a girl that way.