The Washington times., 1937-11-27

easy
They laughed at him when some
body gave him a gross of hot
water bottles to sell in a college
town. But he sold them-at the
Y. M. c. A.
And they laughed at him when
he fell in love with Norma Sellers,
the prettiest girl in Balaclava, N. j.
But Al entered the race for her in
the field which resembled the en-
tries to an annual marathon.
The reason they laughed was
that Norma was really beautiful
girl and Al was no bargain, even
to a homely mans contest. He
would have been picked too easily
as the winner.
Norma was dark and about 5
feet, 5 inches with jet black hair,
a short tilted nose, a generous
mouth and a form that would
have placed her as Miss America
in any bathing beauty contest.
At her beck and call she had
the pick of Balaclava, from Ed
Peters, the bankers son, to Bill
Bonner, senior at Dartmouth and
mentioned by three New York
newspapers as an All-American
guard.
HOMELY AL
Al? Well, as the girls of Bala-
claca said, he was insignificant.
He was slight and blonde and
wispy. His hair in his mid-twen-
ties was already thinning.
His nose was pointed, his eyes
peering and his whole face was
marred by an abnormally square
chin.
His voice was high and squeaky
and his body was the opposite Of
Bill Donner's or that of any other
AlrAmerican football player. In
Fact, it was the kind of body that
any athlete would avoid having.
All these things, his looks, his
voice and his build were what
made people laugh when they
learned that Al was in love with
Norma and bound to do some
thing about it.
Al let them laugh. They had al
ways laughed at him whenever he
started after anything. But he
always got what he went after,
didn't he?
Norma'S people were rich and
Al was poor, But Al could always
make money when he wanted it
badly. He had proven that, hadn't
he, time and again?
That is what AIS defenders and
hackers said about him and his
chances. al never did discuss
them publicly. He just ignored
his candidacy for Norma'S affec-
tons.
But he sounded off one night
over at Zeke Bingel's after an all
night poker game. He laid down
his own estimation of his chances
and, incidentally, barred the phi,
losophy which had carried him
thus far through his life.
Judged from it, his chances with
Norma didn't look nearly as bad
as you did when you didn't know
what he thought.
whatever you are" AL ex-
planned, lis all in your head. You
think you're Napoleon long and
hard enough and you come either
to resemble him or into an in
sane asylum.
eff you think you can do any
thing, the chances are you're about
half way toward doing it even be-
fore you start. I proved that to
my own satisfaction a couple of
years ago with a dog.
PROVED POINT
"Of course, I proved it in re-
verse. I proved that if you think
hard enough that you can't do
anything, then the chances are
you wouldn't be able to do it in a
thousand years. You're licked be-
fore you start. Take that dog of
mine.
His name was Pubs and he
earned it before he grew UP to be
a big dog. But he was pretty
smart. He could almost think in
the dim dull way that the most
intelligent dogs think.
But Pubs couldn't reason.
When he was a little bit of a
puppy, he did something he
shouldn't that earned him his
name, Puddles. I chased him with
a newspaper rolled up. I used to
slap him with it. 1t never hurt
him, but the noise it made fright.
ened him.
well, he ran straight at the
screen door and clawed at it to
open it. He had seen us open it
by pushing it and the smart little
fellow knew that was the way it
was done.
But he happened to be toe
little to bulge it. even though
was right behind him with that
dreaded PAPER.
IT guess the fright and every
thing burned that lesson deep
into his mind. That day, he be
came convinced that he never
could open that screen door by
himself.
when he got to be a big dog
he used to stand and whine al
that door, trying to get out. One
warm day, he sort of annoyed me
The screen was open a little way
and he could have squeezed out
by showing his nose at the open
ing. got up from the chair and
took him my the shoulders anc
pushed the door open with one
paw, telling him all the time how
easy it was,