Evening star., 1924-08-27
THIS AND THAT
BY C. e. TRACEWELL.

One OF the greatest indictments
against men and women in general,
1t seems to me. Is that they are not
cheerful before breakfast.
Any one can putSon a smiling coun-
tenance after a warm repast, but 1t
takes a real man or true woman to
get out of bed with a smile.
Such a person is a philosopher
greater than Socrates. preacher
more wonderful than Solomon, an
optimist who can give pointers to
DR.. Frank Crane and Orrison SWEET
Marden.
Wonderful. cheerful one! In the
home where you exist the entire
family is blessed, although not a
member will give you credit. Like
many Of the best things Of life, you
carry your own reward with you.
+
Look cheerfully upon me-"
Sometimes one feels like amending
his Shakespeare by adding: "Or not at
all"
Just why this universal grouchiness
before breakfast it is hard to say.
1t would take two doctors, a couple
Of honest psycho-analysts and maybe
three efficiency experts to solve the
problem, with the results In doubt
even then, for experts often cannot
simplify a thing half as well as the
application OF common sense by some
average person who has no particular
ak to grind in the world.
What cheerful world this would
be. IL the AK grinders could be elm
mated. There would be a national
prohibition worth while, AS it is,
the ak grinders in politics, business,
literature, life, grind away assidu-
ously spending their spare time
whetting their grindstones, sending
out sparks that enthrall only them
selves.
Everybody has got a panacea for
something or other. Every man you
meet has welded himself to a few
convictions about something, so that
there Is no earthly good in talking to
him about them. Here is one thing
in which marriage means something.
When a man is married to an idea he
does not need any gold ring or wed
ding license or solemn pledges to
keep him true. No man ever has
been divorced from his pet ideas yet.
Cheerful at morn. he wakes from short repose.
Brcathes the keen air, and carols as he goes
Few there are who answer to this
description. Ask any woman. Many
wives fail. too, in preserving the
| matinal cheer AS for children. they
are just as apt to be sulky in the
| morning as their elders.
Getting out of bed in the morning
is not pleasant task. when all is
said and done. Something essentially
irksome hangs about 1t, as il this
coming back to consciousness were
not altogether pleasing to the awak-
ening soul.
Oh; sleep It is gentle thing.
Beloved from pole to pole.
Here is a mystery second to none
In our daily life. one We experience
at least once every "a hours, yet COM
monty never stop to consider at all.
Sleep has been described as little
death. and it is true that while we
are in it We know nothing Of our
selves or what is going on around
us. When man is asleep he has
ceased to exist in so far as he him
self is concerned. Dreams signify
nothing. When one realizes he is
dreaming a dream, as often is the
case, he no longer is asleep, but wax
ing.
The soul seems to resent being
ushered back into the full tide of
consciousness. Animals order this
awakening process better than we do.
When a cat wakes 1t takes a good
stretch, gets up leisurely and starts
its renewed enjoyment Of life.
Man looks sour and feels worse. He
refuses to stretch; he simply refuses
to get up. What cares he IL the
alarm clock rings its back of? He
will stay here in bed for while longer.
II he practices that pernicious doc
trine preached by countless genera
tions of we'll meaning mothers,
"springing out Of bed" he upsets his
entire nervous equilibrium for the
day. More boys have grown up to be
train robbers by practicing this form
of getting up" exercise than the
| world willingly admits.
On the other side of the bed, II a
man eases himself out gingerly. still
world, as il this monstrous injustice
were leveled at him alone. Yet
everybody else is doing it, too. AT
| this same hour thousands are drag
ging themselves to their feet with
| determined air, in the "do-or-die'
| spirit.
Yet. surely. getting up should not
| leave such a mark on a man. The
average person in the National Capt.
| tai, or anywhere else, with average
| funds, the ordinary amount Of joys
| and woes of life, ought to be able to
get up with smile.
Perhaps all that is necessary to
| bring about a great reform, one that
will mean more to mankind than
many mightier sounding affairs. Is to
start all of us thinking about this
morning problem of cheerfulness.
We need to think about getting ur
as we do about politics, for I am sure
| it is Of much more importance to the
! breakfast table with smiling faces
than it is for the members thereof
| to have read the acceptance speeches
Of President Coolidge and John w
! Davis.
Yet what have we? Father growl.
| at the children; mother is upset
| because a glass is overturned; the
little ones bang each other over the
heads and holler all together. This Is
the normal breakfast procedure ir
| countless homes. The young lady OF
the house sulks over her cereal. The
only happy creature in the house Is
the dog.
| Down at the office good cheer is
| lamentably lacking until about II
o'clock. Men come in solemnly. open
| their desks, sit down, seem absorbed
| mostly in themselves. After while
the clouds break up, the sun begins
to shine. Men laugh and joke.
| X
Now, why is this thus?
The world all out of tune, and IL
takes most of us until 10 o'clock each
morning to tune it up again! A
rather long time to do so simple q
| thing as smile. IL you ask me.
A cheerful look makes q dish feast
Remember that at breakfast.
That load becomes light which is eheerfully
! borne.
There is nothing that so lightens
the world for husband as a cheer
full wife, or makes life so happy for q