Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-08
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

grand clapper is wagging, life takes on
added interest. No one should have any
difficulty in understanding his feeling,
because every one alive has experienced
1t, in some degree.
Recall how begrudgingly you permit
your friend to put in his oar," grab
bling at the very first chance to catch
up phrase and hurry on with the
conversation!
Some people are such verbose takers
that it is impossible for ordinary
mortals to get in word 'edgewise," as
the saying is. Like many of our popular
expressions, this one goes to the eX-
IRENE, picturing a word as fiat and
pointed like a knife
With expansive takers it is often i'm
possible to slip in a word by its edge.
let alone flat-side. And even If by dint
of perseverance the word is wedged
in. it is lost in the welter which follows
The real pleasure in civilized con-
VerSation comes from the decent ex-
change of ideas. with the resulting
change of thought which these ideas
create each in the mind of the other.
This is about the same as saying that
one must think a little bit to talk
entertainingly. Certainly there has been
a loss in the entertainment value of
the average conversation, as specializa-
ton in many lines has led to a con-
centration of work and thought.
The specialists used to be mainly
lawyers, doctors and ministers. 1t will
be recalled, however, that these char
acters almost invariably had healthy
and necessary interest in their neigh
bors of the countryside round they
did not talk solely about their profess
sions, but came to play active parts in
the entire community life by reason of
a hearty interest in every one and in
every ones life and work.
X
Today the need is for a return to
that wholesome interest in others which
formerly characterized the populations
of small towns. Not shopping and pry-
ing, of course, but simply that decent
interest which recognizes that the other
fellow may not be particularly inter-
ested in our own little line or side line.
There are so many interesting, pleas
ing, even exciting, things going on in
the world at large that it would seem
that no two human beings could get
together without finding more good
topics of conversation than they could
possibly utilize.
Today all too many persons utilize
none of them. They are too absorbed
III OWAl llbI1C tlllCo W bC lAibCACoNEd
in anything else. Sometimes they make
half hearted, rather pathetic attempts
to talk about the other fellows, but
that makes matters even worse, for then
they flatten out into patronage. This
subject bores me nightly" they seem
to say, "but 1 want to be good to you
and, therefore, 1 will heroicly forget
my own really important work and talk
about lesser matters"
Now all this is SO Unnecessary. Cen
versation is still one Of the Joys and
recreations Of mankind. 1t is one of
the abilities which make us but little
lower than the angels. There is no
dearth of subjects to talk about, nor
any unwillingness OH the part of the
average man or woman to talk about
them. All that is needed is 1ecogni-
ton of their worth as conversational
material.
Specialization is fine, interest in Cne's
work or Job or hobby is a wonderful
thing, but it must never be forgotten
that conversation, rightly considered,
is an art in itself. 1t cannot be put
even on a normal plane by making it
selfish, purely personal matter.
There are enough ways to boost the
ego; conversation should DE reserved
for something better.