The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1939-11-02

The great Palouse Philosophe
once said, "As the twig is bent S
must the limb grow" and 9Th
habits of a life time are hard t.
change"
My sixty years of a wasted lif
began with a series of mistakes. Tn
first year 1 spent most of my lift
crying for milk and found out aft
erwards that there was whiskey IL
the house. Just where acquired tn,
habit of worrying so much I vii
never know But guess I inherit.
ed it for know my parents worried
a lot about me.
Just to illustrate how intense
worry can affect a mans life ever
in material way I will tell just
one instance and then on with the
story. A man from the East took
up homestead close by where ]
was living and tried to carve out a
home for himself and family. He
had wife, several children and a
small herd of fine shorthorn cattle.
He put the woman to work and
turned the cattle and kids loose in
the hills.
His wife was so ambitious that
she cut all the trees except one and
when the man would lay down in
the shade the sun would slowly
creep around and make him move
three or four times a day. Life soon
became too strenuous so he decided
to move on. He gathered up the
kids but was to olazy to find all the
cattle.
I knew where there was several
nice unbranded yearlings and I
knew just exactly what to do in or
der to get my brand on them and
turn them in with my herd.
was already to start when one
of the boys stopped by and began to
tell some of the strange things he
had seen at the circus a few days
before. He said that the lady riders
in the parade wore pants and rode
astride. Can you imagine that?
What was the world coming to,
etc. BY the time quit worrying
about that and got so could ride
again another neighbor had found
and branded the maverick calves
and just lost a good years work.
And to all you kind people who |
think the most terrible thing in the
world is to be worrying all the
time about all women in general, I |
want to say it is nothing compared |
with intensive very about just one
woman in particular.
When was twenty one I bet my
uncle Sam twenty dollars against
one hundred and sixty acres of land
that could live ON it for five years
without starving to death.
Life was drab and lonesome and
very monoton0us. All short ration
and no company except my dog and
saddle horse.
I wish had the time and you
had the space so I could tell you
some OF the many interesting things
that happened to me during those
five eventful years, but will say
that found out that there are sew
eral substances besides Maryland
tobacco that will smoke in pipe
and lots of things besides South
American coffee to drink for break
fast. But the most wonderful Of
all was that fell in love for the
first time. There is no use in trying
to describe my feelings because the /;
man who invented the English Lam
guage and the one who wrote the
were both confirmed wo-
manhaters for they failed to put In
any words to adequately describe the
emotions of young person when
he first feels the tingltng touch Of
cupid's arrow. She was the comedy
daughter of one of my neighbors.
The first time saw her I sat on my
horse on hillside and looked down
upon their humble cabin and saw
her cutting wood. I watched her
a long time and was so fascinated by
the way she could handle an ak that
the next evening I rode closer so
could watch her better. finally rode
up and introduced myself and when
she learned that I was a near
she invited me to stay for
supper. She was pretty good natur-
ed and hard, willing worker, but
1t was when I tasted that home.