Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-07-05

Pm beginning to think, saids Nc
Donald Kent to his wife. that mar
riage is like golf-full of mental haz-
ards"
81 presume" said Jane Jelly, that
you're trying to say something dis
agreeable"
I'm trying to be pleasant, I'm try
Ing to get dressed and out of this room
without a row." His voice gradually
lifted with his irritation. "Thus," he
finished, Setting a worlds record"
Jane turned to look out of the win
dow, and then she began to hum. The
sound Of her humming bored into her
husbands ears maddeningly He was
a reasonable human being: lie knew
nothing had been done or said which
warranted either of them in giving
away to anger and the usual morning
on. There was an inevitability about
these morning rows, a silly Inevitable
tty. Morning after morning he had
arisen with good resolutions. and so,
he knew, had his wife-but the result
was always the same.
mental hazard" he told himself.
Like driving a golf ball over the pond
on the sixth hole. You know you're
going to smash it into the water, and
you do" He turned to Jane with
elaborate self-repression and painstak-
ing patience.
III mt To hn Il; III.
God knows" he said. 81 don't want
to start the day with rumpus, bat"
"But you always do" she said
provocatively.
He compressed his lips and stared
at her, determined to control his ton
que. Honestly, Jane" he said, 81
wasn't trying to say anything dis
agreebale-that about mental hazards.
What l meant was that you can't play
golf without believing you can make
your shots-and that's just like mar
riage. We're off our game. We're al
ways topping our irons or hitting out
of bounds. Purely mental. We could
play the game as well as we did six
or seven years ago if we just thought
So"
Il hadn't lived with you ten years
seven years ago" Jane said with
finality.
"God send you're not living with me
ten years hence" he said, his anger
suddenly ablaze
81 wouldn't be living with YOU to-
morrow" she answered, "if there was
any way out. Oh, why haven't money
of nv own? Why can't 1 be indie
pendent of your
"Well," he said shortly, "you haven't
and you can't-and there are the kids,
so all we can do is make the best of
it."
With that he ierked on his coat and
flung out of the room to eat a break
fast which had become f1avorless for
him as it had for his wife. Words,
words, words. He knew, as she knew
that What had passed between them
was really meaningless. was nothing
but sound and irritation. Both knew
that, for the most part, they lived
amicably comfort3bly-an sincerely
wanted to live together in peace and
enjoyment. Then why? Why these
quarrels so easily lighted? Why this
evaporation with each other, this
shortness Of patience, this painstaktng
search for a cause Of affront? nc
Donald could find no answer 20 his
questions.
Their marriage had stretched over
II years. and there were two ch,l'
dren, nine and seven years old
Neither Mcdonald or his wife gave
consideration to the fact that the
ages of their children might have much
to do with the steadily increasing in
clemency Of their life together. The
fact of the matter was that the chill
dren had passed babyhood in safety
They were in school; no longer were
they monepolizing the attention OF
their parents, and, consequently, after
all these years. Jane and Mcdonald
ri''!;. time to think about themselves