The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-29
DOMESTIC DAYS
By ROY L. MCARDELL

well, SOl, guess you TS uOlHS big business for the holidays" re- marked MT. Jarr, as he dropped in at the popular cigar store at the corner.
 Sol looked at MT. Jarr very in- tently some moments before he spoke. 'If say it's good you ain't goin' to touch me for S2, are you?" he answered finally.
 You're perfectly safe with me as regards cash,' replied MT. Jarr. T opine that business is good with you, then?"
 "oh, so. so," Sol answered care lessly. T don't know whether it's because my regular trade expects me to slip 'em each 8 box of cigars or whether 1t Is that, just before Christ mas, the women is so cross the men has to go out of the house, and the women Is glad to have 'em out"
 Just then MT. Rafferty, the build CT, followed by MT. Slavinsky, the glazier, sidled in from the street and the usual compliments of the day were exchanged.
 Cheer up, Rafferty," said MT. Jarr, as he observed frown on the face of the builder. Cheer up! The worst is yet to come"
 You said 1t all right" replied the builder gruffly. "It's goodby to money at per cent. We'll be pay ing for it, and glad to get it at that. There won't be much build ing next season unless things pick up-or we have an earthquake. The soldiers bonus Is bound to pass, mind what l say!"
 Them earthquakes ain't so bad" remarked MT. 6lavinsky softly T heard feller say that he seen the earthquake in Japan and 1t didn't leave whole pane of glass for hundred miles around"
 And this Is the time of year." con tinued the gloomy Rafferty, that the women take their husbands money and buy things for them they don't want"
 "To the cry of Give us our Christi mas shopping money earlyn the women make this the husbands an- nual Armageddon," observe MT. Jarr' Just look at this loafer coming in here," interrupted Sol, the Smoke Shop man.
 Mir. Michael Angelo Dinkston came | In at this point right merrily and, | slipping plenty of money on the counter. asked for cigars for the 1 crowd.
 "You got Q nerve buying cigars | when you heed a haircut and shave and everything!" said Sol sourly looking MT. Dinkston over.
 
 masi" cried MT. Dinkston airily. T | make everybody happy to look at | me. To strangers I am constant reminder that the poor are always with us. It's a great comfort to lot l of people to be reminded that, as | the good old saying is, Next week | is Merry Christmas; therell be plum duff all around! By the way what is plum duff?'
 "You should be ashamed, young | feller, to try to kid us and have l money in your mitt and not get a | haircut, even," said Sol.
 T am the Spirit of Christmas; l 1 shall make everybody happy re- | peated MT. Dinkston. Tired. the bar l Der. forgets his rancor at the Christ l mas gift shower of safety razors | when he sees my unclipped hair. 1 But IoolSl There is Berry, the under l taker, standing at his door, discon- | solate. Wait, I want to go past him l and cough like tubercular Merry l Christmas of fat graveyards" | 'Yo've been good children. said Mrs. Jarr b1ithely to her children, land 50 mamma is going to take you Santa Claus, and you can tell him what you want for Christmas. But when you see Santa Claus at the store," she went on, don't ask him l for a lot of foolish toys that cost a lot of money and only break and are thrown away, for 1t will make Santa Claus very mad. Santa Claus is very poor this year."
 Little Miss Jarr listened with an expression of keen disappointment to this recital of the Santa Clauslan poverty. Young as she was she re- membered having been told 1t In pre- v;ous vears A
 Master Willie Jarr was two years older than his little sister. Even in his more trustful younger years, when he did believe in Santa Claus, he had noticed that one certain Santa Claus stationed at a street corner near by to extort the contributions of the charitable, seemed to be in sufficient funds to leave his coin kettle ever and anon and enter a cafe nearby Here he performed a, at that time horrifying feat in the eyes of Master Jarr, peeking in, by lifting up his gray whiskers to his forehead, where 1 they stuck out at terrifying angle upside down, and had hoarsely cried | .Gimme slug of the old stuff" Master Jarr remembered how he had fled from the scene in terror and from that moment he knew that he did not believe in Santa Claus | Thus it was that Master Jarr, to