San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-12-16
Listen, World!
Always a Price
BY Elsie Robinson


She has heavy black hair which drugs
and tangles and takes long, peevish
moments to dress. She is always fuss
ing at it and envying the trig, buoy
ant heads of the other girls.
IF I were sure that I'd never be
sorry I'd cut it tomorrow" says Ber-
nice. But the morrows come and go
and Bcrnice's hair is still uncut. 1t
will always be uncut because Bernice
will never be sure that she won't be
sorry if she does it.
That's the reason why Bernice isn't
in England today. She had wonder
full chance to 70 to England as COM
pansion for Mrs. Winters. But Mrs.
Winters is old and cranky and Ber-
nice was having a nice time here, go.
ing around with a dandy crowd. OF
course she wanted to go to England.
She was really crazy to go to Eng.
land. But suppose she got there and
Mrs. Winters wasn't pleasant? Then
she'd have given up her nice job here
and lost out on all the good times.
So Bernice decided not to go to Eng
land. She couldn't b: sure.
Three times Bernice has had
chances to marry but she couldn't be
sure about that, either. They were
fine men. She liked them very much
She was Simply Wild over Phil. But
suppose it didn't turn out right:
c,ono.. thav Lost tha;r ,oopoy or oot
sick or developed a taste for liquor or
did some other terrible thing? How
she'd then regret the fact that she
didn't stay single! So Bernice has
stayed single.
Now you'd think, having taken all
these precautions to escape danger and
discomfort. Bernice would be enjoying
an idyllic life. But far from it Der
nice is, in fact, extremely unhappy and
uncomfortable.
Instead Of apprecia ting the pleasant
program she has built for herself she
is continually yearning back to the
opportunities she has passed up.
II she'd only gone to England
II she'd only married Phil
II she could only be sure about
bobbing her hair
If she'd taken that course in
French
II she'd joinej that club
Bernice's life has become one great
unhappy If. She has passed up hun
dred opportunities because she feared
there might be price to pay. And
now she's paying a dozen times over
in restlessness and regret
Most of us are like that. We'd glad
ly do any number of interesting, pro-
gressive, radical things, if only we
were sure that we wouldn't be sorry
we had done them.
That's the question we eternally
ask and the excuse we always present
for our poverty of experience. 1t is
really very easy question TO answer.
Anyone who has lived at all can an
swer it.
Will we be sorry il we do it?
of course we'll be sorry il we do il.
No matter how brave the venture.
there will always come moments Of
doubt and regret. Even in the flush
of triumph we'll look back and won
der. There's always a price to pay for
everything you do.
But
You pay an even heavier price il
you don't do things!
Inactivity is, in the end, infinitely
more destructive and costly than ac-
tivity.
The people who are too careful are,
in the long run, a much poorer and
more peevish lot than the people who
are too reckless.
And that is because life was meant
to move. Hustling is as basic a part
Of life as hunger. If you're never hun
cry, you're sick and will eventually
die from lack of nourishment. If you
neevr hustle, you're also sick,
starved person.
So whether you bob your hair or
don't bob your hair-whethcr You
marry or don't marry-you'll pay a
price, my dear. AS for me, Id rather
have something sto show for my price,
even if / had my doubts about the
bargain.
Copyright. 1895. King Feature Syn. Inc