Evening star., 1932-03-09
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

went into the wilderness and actually
Aboa,t all that links those men and
women to the men and women OF To-
day aside from the basic fact OF their
human descent, IS the weather.
The pioneers knew wind, ana Ialn,
and snow. They got the same hurt
from o falling tree, 1eleo oy =
wind. that one gets TO-DAY. II ne - ~
The elements were real to the pio-
neers They had no glassed-in sedans,
warmed with hot water. Ihey were
fortunate II they had s. covered wagon
Their log cabins were so prlmltlve
that few city people of this age wouIo
consent to live in such naoitatioh.
Their sanitation was as elementary as
that of the tribes of Moses, probably
not as good.
One thing they did have. however,
and that was plenty OF courage.
Also they were tough.
Super heated living had not mace
them soft, or rendered them AFRAID Oh
facing life as it is, not as the soul Oh
man would like 1t to be.
Windstorms, through all their varla-
ticns OF tornadoes, hurricanes, ollz-
yards, our pioneer forefathers laceo
with fortitude, not only because they
had to, but also because the elements
simply were part OF manklndS lou.
Today the city man, at least: is IN.
clined to resent the weather, or AT
best to sneer at it.
But wind will always be q thing
which no thinking person can hold In
small esteem.
He must look upon It as . mighty
force, next to unleashed fire In posi-
bilities for destruction.
Out in the suburban areas, where
there Is plenty Of room for 1t to exert
itself. the wind makes a noise more
like the roaring of the breakers than
anything else.
Those who love the boom Of the surf
crashing on a sandy beach found some.
thing appealing about the high wind
Of last Sunday night. despite the rush
and roar and the impact OF the pres
sure which wind really is.
There would be q lull. then 1t could
be heard collecting itself at q distance,
seemingly, as 1t prepared to make an
other swoop
Tall evergreens, borne down by snow
and ice, bent their patient heads be-
fore the blast, as the high wind swept
down between homes, and smacked
against the side OF house, as II de-
termined to tear 1t from its very foun-
da tions.
Flap. flap went the curtains on the
sleeping porch The wind got under
them, and fairly wrestled with them,
attempting to pry them loose. to send
them flying away through the biting air.
In vain, thank heaven. The manu-
facturers who made those curtains did
good job Of it, despite the howls Of
protest sometimes heard. to the effect
that American manufacturers often
fail to turn out good goods.
These curtains are good goods.
Staunchly they do their Job in life, that
Of protection. But there is no one
there to protect. Not on such o night.
They do say that even the people who
brag about waking up and shaking the
snow of their covers went inside last
Sunday night.
They were wise. too.
Fresh air and high wind are two
different things. Fresh air is desirable,
right enough, but when 1t comes in at
the rate Of go miles an hour, with so
many pounds of pressure behind It, the
wise sleeper shuts down his window.
Wind!
No wonder the ancients personified
it, and the artists of the Middle Ages
painted 1t as an impudent looking
young man with his mouth blowing
ships over stormy sea. Wind was
and Is force to be reckoned with
especially in March in Washington.