The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-07-02


 and there, to chat at a friendl Now the children were at school; the neighbors were at work; and the street was deserted.
 With hands that trembled slight ly, Ma Mcguire braced herself on the arms of her rocking chair, and rose to her feet. She cast Q ques- tioning look down the hallway, then stole quietly to the front door and opened 1t. She could see all the way down to the corner from the front stoop. Perhaps
 Nal"
 Ma Mcguire gave guilty start, and hastily closed the door. as her daughter-in-law appeared, dish towel in hand, at the other end of the hall.
 "There you so again!" Mamie Maguire's brows knit in an irrit- able line, and her black eyes snapped impatiently. II could feel the draft all the way back in tho kitchenl How am l ever go- ing to keep the house warm, If you go opening the door all the timer"
 I'm sorry, Mamie. thought you had the door shut back there. Maybe I could be after helpin' you with the dishes?" she added hope fully.
 "They're nearly done." Mamie waved aside the offer, and started back to the kitchen, then paused suspiciously. "What're you looking for, anyway, Ma? It's nowhere near time for tho children to be getting back for lunch"
 II know," Ma Mcguire sighed, looking up at the gilt clock on the mantelpiece. She went heavily over to her chair by the window.
 Ten o'clock! It must be later than 10 o'clock! She leaned back and closed her eyes, gently rock Ing to and fro.
 At the factory, now, she would have pressed over a hundred pairs of pajamas by this time. In her minds eye, she could see the va. rled colored piles mounting up be- tween her and Sarah Kelley, be- fore the boy came to take them.
 For q space, she wouldn't be able to see Sarah's red, cheery face at all. the pile would be so high. Then, 1t would be whisked away, and she would have to start building 1t all over again. Reach Ing out for the crumpled gar- ments; smoothing them out; press. Ing them folding them on tho pile. |
 The creaking chair rocked Into the rhythm of her memories. Reaching lng-smoothing--prossing - folding; reaching - smoothing -- pressing-folding. Over and over A TEAR GLIsTENED IN MAS EYE.
 A tear glistoned at the wrinkled corner of Ma Maguire's eye and triekled unnoticed down the fur rows of her check.
 What wouldn't she give to be back in her place, at that row of ironing boards, next to Sarah Kel- ley! Sarah was still there. But then she was younger by five years than she was. Sarah couldn't be more than sixty. Sarah could do hor eight hundred pairs q day.
 Ma Mcguire stirred restlessly In her chair. Perhaps she could have tried mite harder! But trying her very hardest, she had barely pressed seven hundred. She could feel again how her back had achod, and the tight. band around her head. How she would wei. come that ache now! Anything was better than these empty hours.
 How proud she'd been to pay | her share of tho family expenses | every Saturday night! And q good | deal moro than her share this last | year, when Pat was out of job. | It had been pretty tough sledding. |
 Pat was working again, thanks | be to Godl Working for some- thing called the CWA.
 Ma Maguiro was at loss to | understand the meaning of all | these strange new symbols, but one | thing sho understood only too | clearly: they could take away jobs, | as well as give them.
 It was something called the | NRA that had taken hor job. The | boss had called hcr in, and ex- plained 1t all In very kindly way | to her. She wished now that she l had listened more carefully, but | her mind hadn't been able to reg !