The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1939-11-23
Parenthood Problem Plenty
OF People Ponder Prodigiously

! tlngle and l start at every SounC
and wonder if it is the wings of the
belated stork or the Hopping of the
angel of death, which always hovers
so near at a time like this. My only
consolation is what I will be able
to tell the boys in the morning ano
that soon I will have son to beal
my family name and to carry or
from where I leave off. I try tC
calm myself with the belief tina;
soon there will be one man in the
world who can and will take hold
and keep Strengthened out the po-
litical snarl that is forever entang-
ling the feet of the liberty-loving
people of our proud nation.
Then after ages and cons of wait
ing the nurse enters. Bless her
heart she knows what it is to be
born in the world under the handi-
cap of sex. She also knows what
it is to break the sad news to proud
frightened, expectant fathers who
are about to receive the greatest dis
appointment of their lives. can
tell by the look on her face that
the worst has happened and that
must wait at least a few more
years before I can realize my ife'S
fondest dream and that have been
elected to shoulder a heavy burden
of lifetime worry. She gives me q
drink out of a friendly looking
black bottle to quiet my nerves and
to deaden my sensibilities to the
message she has to impart. want
you to know that trying to be a real
father to family of girls puts a
man on the spot"
Yes I know what you think be-
cause I know how your mind runs.
With all the attractive and entic-
ing things there are in the world
today to fascinate and amuse a
young woman and to take and keep
her mind off of trying to be a real
little lady.
My girls were born into this
world when the whole country was
suffering from the hypnotic influ-
ence of the college boom and every
one was drugged and saturated with
soul destroying prosperity. Now any
one with common sense knows that.
there is nothing in the world so
hard on young people as to have
to much money to spend and the
girls had too much time to help
them spend it. All the good auth
critics agreed that it was impos-
sible to raise decent youngsters un-
der such conditions but we did.
Then followed the pre-war and
after war readjustment. Now every
one knows that intelligent young
people are very sensitive to any
disturbance that affects the serenity
of the home or country and are
apt to b misled by what they see,
hear or read.
Then followed the great Hover
depression, when the whole country
was again thrown into turmoil, con-
fusion and idleness. Now any one
knows that the most trying time In
the world for growing young peo-
pie IS to not to have enough Of any
thing Or to have any legitimate way
to get it. In fact so far as I have
been able to learn there has never
been any time in the history Of the
world which was really conducive
to the raising and training Of
bunch Of ambitious children. Then
came the sudden changes of all the
fashions with bobbed hair, short
skirts, painted faces, bare knees,
rouged lips, tinted nails, cheek-to-
cheek dancing and that other mys-
ferrous something the exact nature
of which was never permitted to
investigate personally, but which
was to cause every mother many
sleepless hours, commonly called
necking or petting in parked auto
mobiles.
just to show erring humanity
that blessings or storm clouds never
come singly, the so-called recess
ion" was ushered in. This was a
time when hope seemed to die In
the bravest hearts and we all began
to ask each other "oh, what's the
use." OF course our attitude to-
wards life was reflected in the in
fluence and conduct Of our young
people. Then came the New Deal
transgression, the return Of legalized
booze and the radio advertisements
trying to make tailor-made cigar
cite smoking popular and fashion,