Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-01
FIFTEEN


Funny about vacations, isn't it?
How crazy you are when they're al
most at hand, and how keen you are
to get home and see the family and
the cat and the furniture, and then
how quickly you want to have some
thing doing. The fact is, Mary G.,
l am as lonesome as 1 can be.
Mother and Dad were inconsider-
ate enough to move half way across
the state in October last, and here
l am coming back home, and not
a soul do l know. The boys are both
away, Joe is a councillor in a boys
camp in the north woods, and dear
little old Mickey is out on a ranch
in Colorado, expenses out and back
paid, and a good job, as far as ex-
perience goes. That always means
there isn't much money in it. But
that is the family characteristic.
We aren't much on making money.
Isn't it wonderful to read all these
things in the paper about million
aires who began with one hen tur-
key, and kept on till they cornered
all the oil in the world? What a
difference it might have made If
that first turkey hadn't been a hen!
Well, anyway, Mary G., I'm lone
some as anything, and l am writing
to you because it keeps up my cour-
age. You probably won't be able to
get through all this. but 1 know
you will forgive me when you know
how it cheers me to write you. l
don't want the people to know how
l hate it here. You see, owing to
Fathers work, we've always lived
a kind of nomadic life, three years
here and three years somewhere
else, and just as Dol as you get
rather at home in one spot you move
on. l Just hate it. I'd like to live
years and years in just one place,
at least have Home in just n place,
SO l could always think of that one
place as Home. OF course 1 mean
to travel somehow, if 1 have to work
my way at all sorts of jobs. l do
want to see what this big old world
is like.
Just at present, though, I'm wash
ing the family dishes, busting the
furniture, cooking the dinners, and
in between times, I'm making my
clothes for the summer, and for
next year too. It's awfully hot,
around 95 most of the time, and l
don't mind unless l have to be civil
to mothers callers, lots of them poor
old souls that she befriends, and
they come early and stay late and
talk about their symptoms all the
time. This is kind of a rural COM
munity, you know, and that sounds
like a slam on the country, but
isn't. The only people I've seen
here that look the least bit interest
ing are two old twin sisters, eighty
years old, and they are the most
beautiful little old things l ever
saw. They do all their own house
work, and work their little garden,
and they are proud as anything of
their vegetables, but perfectly cocky
about their flowers. They grow the
old fashioned flowers too, which
pleases me. You know, balsams, and
verbena, and petunias. Somehow
the petunias seem just like them,
sweet and fragile and simple. l
never knew before hat l liked
petunias so much.
Last night one of them brought
over some lovely pot cheese. They
call it Dutch cheese" here. 1t
certainly was good. Today l made
them some divinity candy, and they
are as tickled as anything over it.
Mary G., l am so lonesome l want
to fight. Why, when l think of Miss
Q's school, and Annielove and Helly
and Gloria and Ponderosa and MILL
cent, l almost die. Helly is in
Switzerland with her Mother, Gloria
is in Alaska, Ponderosa in Washing
ton, and Millicent at home in Penn
sylvania. Good little Annielove, who
lives in Chicago, expects to come
and make us a visit. | shall eat
her up, l shall be so glad to see her.
At the same time, dear Mary e.,
l dread having her come just a lit
tie. You see Annielove is used TO
a home that is run with servants,
and though she is the dearest thing
in the world, and 1 love her next
to my blessed family, still, l wish
we didn't have to grub so. COOK
ing a whole dinner on a blistering
hot day makes me feel like swear
ing, and naturally l can't expect
mother to spend all her time over
a hot stove to feed up my friends.
L do wish we had just a little more
money. Mother and DAD both work
so hard, and they &C without every
thing so that Joe can go to the
University and l al go away to
school, and it just makes me sick.
They could have so much easier
and happier a time if they didn't
give up everything for US. 1t just
doesn't seem right. And o dear, the
worst of it is that when we're work
ing so hard and trying to sew so
much, we get on each others nerves,
and then Mother says how 1 don't