Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-12-09
DOROTHY DIX DISCUSSES LIFE
HEART AMI HOME
On HEART AND HOME

We have to have somebody to tell
things 10, and there Is nobody whose
opinion we value so much as those
of our neighbors.
SO, Plebeian, quit worrying over
your snobbish ncighbors. Just be
sorry for them, and cultivate a
sense of humor. They are great
joke if You will only get the right
slant on them.
Dear Miss Dix am a young girl
and am conG,dered very pretty, bur
my trouble is not being able to talk
to boys. What can girl talk about
to hold boys attention?
MARION.
Answer:
If you want to grip a boys atten-
ton and make him think you are q
spellbinder, talk to him about him
self. That is a subject in which
most of us are eterna1ly interested
and there is not the slightest chance
of boring us as long as you keep the
spotlight focused on our many per-
fections.
Very few boys are averse to hear
ing how good-looking they are, and
what killing they make with the
girls, and how wonderfully they
drive an automobile, and with what
grace they dance, and so on, and so
forth, ad infinitum. Sometimes you
have to temper your batteries with
a little deft reserve and imply things
rather than say them outright, but
mostly you can put the loud needle
on the photograph and repeat the
record es often as you like.
AS an encore you can ask a boy
what he is interested in, what sports,
what fraternieies he belongs to,
whether he is studying a profession
or is at work; any topic that is per-
sonal will be interesting to him.
Sometimes you find a boy who
reads, and, of course, you can talk
to him about books, provided you
also read. A mutual taste in litera-
ture is a neVer-e ending source of
conversation.
But whatever you do, don't talk
to a boy about yourself. No man
ever really wants to hear about a
woman's personal experiences.
He doesn't take the slightest inter.
est in what she thinks, or the places
she has been to, or the people she
has met. He gets up and beats it
when she begins telling about the
camp she went to last summer or
the trip she took with mother and
father.
Above all, never tell a boy about
your conquests. Never brag about
bnH
dances, and especially about how
many boys have been in love with
you. 1t is bad craftsmanship and
makes a boy feel that you will be
exhibiting his scalp to the next chap
who comes along. And never tel
one boy what another boy did for
you by way of giving you good
time. 1t makes him feel that you
think he is cheap, and that is fatal
Don't try to show off before boys,
or be highbrow. Just be human, and
young and frivolous and easy to get
along with. That's their number
too, and you will soon be chattering
like magpies.
Dear Miss Dix-What is wrong
er does anything for his children or
wife? My father belongs to clubs
and spends money on himself, and is
Well-to-do, but he never gives us any
money for the house or buys us
clothes. There are six Of us children,
three under II years old. l am Is
and my sister 20, and we support the
family. Mother is very much neg
lected. She works hard and gets
nothing in return. Is it right for
my sister and me to go away and
take care of ourselves, so we can
have friends, or should we endure
this longer?
AN INTERESTED READER.
Answer: 1 should say that every.
thing is wrong with such a father,
and that you should call in the do.
nestle relations court to deal with
his case. If he has money, he can
be compelled to support his family.
You and your sister have a right to
leave such a home, but L should
think that you would not have the
heart to leave your poor mother. You
must be great comfort to her.
DOROTHY DIX.
Copyright, 1924