The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-04-21
WHEN INGRATITUDE IS
SHOWN BY CHILDREN
BY SOPHIE IRENE IOEB

a case of ingratitude of children
came to. me the other day from a
friend OF mine. He is man over
sixty and has worked all his life as
a carpenter-a splendid and steady
worker. He had a large family and
great ambitions for them. He toiled
in the hope that they would not have
to go through the same kind of men,
ial labor as their father and there
fore sent a couple of his sons to
sollege and gave the others advan-
tages in the way of learning and
helping them in business
The college men entered professions,
are doing excellent work. and are
making money.
Years ago / heard these young men
talk about how they would always
take care of their father in his old
age and see that he could retire and
live comfortably as a reward for his
incessant efforts in their behalf.
l will never forget the statement
of one of these young men, a doctor.
who said: I'VE have the most Won
derful father in the world. He has
might get somewhere and We are
never going to forget it, Just as
soon as get things going you
shall see what I will do for him.
The results are sad. indeed. In
his old age he is trudsing away at
MS JoD ana tne promised rest mas
never come.
In a word, they have forgotten the
father who actually made these things
possible and now he expects to work
until the end of the chapter. This he
doesn't mind. He is the salt of the
earth and he loves work for himself.
He likes to complete a job and have
comebody say it is wei done.
In other words, he is the kind of
a worker who does not just work.
but strives for workmanship. He
would have gone on gladly. even If
his loved ones wanted to take care
of him, doing odd jobs here and there.
But the thing that hurts him is that
they have utterly forgotten all their
promises, and are content to carry
on in their own way for their own
interes/s. They do not even give him
a kind thought or perform even small
deeds for him.
That is the thing that hurts the
worst of all. And the next day after
talking with this man l discussed the
matter with a mother who also has
several children and she spoke somc-
thing like this: II do not expect any
thing from my children. l realize
that we have brought them into the
world and that we must do the best
we can for them and that we should
not expect any return for all that we
have DONE"
Here are the extremes, yet there Is
the happy mean to be considered on
both sides While parents arc not
expecting any return. children should
expect to give it. The very byst COM
mandment in the Bible is "Hopor thy
father and mother"
A man who forgets his poor par
ents in his days of affluehce has
smothered something vital in his
character building and has lost some
thing of manhood that would make
him better kind of an individual.
The man who canot think of his
father and mother in terms of con-
is. making their lives
easier when he can--is lacking in the
finer elements necessary to make
real man of the community. In
word, he is not a good citizen in the
land in which he lives who neglects
such personal responsibility.
This hors good with women as
we'll No matter what your di&er-
ences are with your parents at least
the common comforts of life should
be given them by a son or daughter
who can possibly do it, even though
of some sacrifice. A man os not
man that does not do 1t.