The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-08
THE MEN WHO CAN'T STAY
 HOME

You see them in the evening,
 As they finger meath the trees, Their tattored rags a clinging,
 And a flappin in the breeze. Just a bunch of bums,' you say, Who stay awhile, then pass
 away"
 You see them in the night time,
 With the moon behind the Wind a whistling in the trees, Shades of night the earth en-
 shrouds.
 Once they pause, then wander on, As night fades, at break of dawn. Theirs is a lot to be summed.
 They're the men who can't stay
 home.
 They answer the eerie call,
 They answer the call to roam. From north to south, east to Of this world they seek tho
 crest.
 The whistles blast is in thelr
 blood.
 They answer the eerie call, Souls of men it tears in two,
 And never the spell shall pail. Like shadows of night they roam. They're the men who caon5t
 stay home.
 The famous old character of the sport world. "One-Eyed- C0nneI- ly, could tell tales of the cerie call the sound of freight trains whistle at midnight sends to the souls of men. For years, old Connolly has ronmed from one end of the continent to the other, and the great psychologists of the day would probably tell you that "One-Eyed" Is happier with his lot than some of the milliOnaires of tho day.
 A member of the wandering fraternity-just a common every day bum-stopped the writer q moment last night, seeking the loan" of a dime for a nights lodgings. cigarettes, or some thing like that, and therein lies the reason for the above. A dime is worth dime, for all of that, even If it's value must h~ taken out in gobs of converse N)n, which is cheap, brothers, even in these days of high prices and poor wages.
 Why am I in this fix, boss?' We'll, you see, I've had hard luck. l am working man, and had a steady job in Atlanta. Well III cut out the sob stuff, then"
 And then the chap proceeded to tell us of things we had never guessed He told of a genuine wanderlust that grips men-even as the desire to drink grips others-and longing to be up nd axtiY, -l. where-just to be moving, that makes life unbearable unless satisfied.
 Boss, have you ever heard a freight train whistle long and mournful like, as 1t pulls and groans up a long grade? Sure you have, and I'll bet this dime you've just loaned me that you felt that way yourself-mourn- ful and restless, like you were missing something in life. Well, that call sounds tronger in some of our souls than 1t does in others, and we'll leave home and family to get out and hit the open road.
 What do we care for trouble? We can always find something to eat, and then there is nothing on earth to worry us. A day or so in jail only means few square meals. Bo, it's hard to stay home and settled when you hear the call of the open road, as some of us hear it."
 All of which meons nothing at nil to the everyday uninitiated person. Hut it is a sad fact that the sport world Is closely con- Evcted with the world of roam ing. It's the call to be up md doing something that sends the athletes to feats that will live forever. In some men, the "eerie call, sends them out into the world, in others 1t sends them GropinE onward for dame whether in athletics or other fields of endeavOr. That bo was right. There is a call that tears mt the soul of man. and when the call Is heard Snd answered, One's destiny has been worked out.
 Have the Barons finally shaken that Cracker Jinx, or have they merely lodged the thi ng for a moment. as mouse will for second or two free itself from the claws of a cat, only to be dragged back the next?
 There's & turning to even thu longest lane in the world, the Grand Canyon, so the Baron's couldn't go on losing to Atlanta