The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-16

=! = :, :. :. V joints I find
 that my talk of calendars and alnanacs has brought in flood of these aids to keeping track of time, and re- solve this year to get along with out any desk pad calendar. I al- ways forget to tear of the leaves At The Players for lunch, and talk with George Britt, of the World Telegram. He and his talented wife, Hortense Saunders, were among our earliest friends in New York, and long will re- main friends, I hope I hear of dog in Cincinnati, called Sitz Bad, because he runs and jumps into the bath-tub and sits there whenever anybody turns on the tap. He's owned by MT. and Mrs. Eugene Ach, who also have three or four other dogs, preferring mutts to thoroughbreds . A letter frcm V. V. McNitt, on his way to Hawaii, telling of visits with many of my friends in Call ifornia and a much-valued note from Harry Silvey, the broker, saying nice things about my recently published poem on O. O. M. Harry was so close to Odd that I feel that his approval means that Odd, too, would like the piece-and maybe does like it.
 Personal reflection: It is mighty dangerous to permit anybody to learn to drive in car that has the emergency brake on the left. Who's going to stop the car when it heads for a tree? I wish the makers would put that brake back where it could be used in an emer- gency. We're having 8 lot of crashes around our town, and a distressing number of them are involving learners.
 Howard Kershner, the serious, thoughtful Quaker who has been named to take charge of distribu- tion of American relief in Spain, was a schoolmate of mine at Friends University. I've seen him once or twice a year in the mean time, usually at college reunions or in connection with some writ ing venture he has had in hand He's been interested in financial work and in genealogical publica- tionS.
 He is a short, rather stout per- son, slow of speech, and contin- ually wanting to go back to first principles in discussing any kind of public question.
 He expects to take his wife and child to Spain, which may or may not turn out to be a smart idea. But, from my knowledge of him, I'll hazard the guess that relief will be honestly handled, with out regard to politics in this coun- try or abroad. Hungry women and children will be fed, no matter what their opinions of Commun- ism or Franco may be.
 Sinclair Lewis is one of those Americans who makes no claim to personal beauty. With Irwin Cobb he has sometimes been put up for the non-beauty prize of the literary world. Yet, I can't help seeing a strong resemblance be- tween Lewis and the King of Sweden, and the King isn't con- sidered at all hard to look at. Also, some people see a strong re- semblance between Lewis and Frank Craven, the actor. Jed Har- ris, producer of Our Town," tried to get Lewis to play the part which was later given to Craven.
 Do the Pennsylvania railroad and the New York Central ex-
 change recipes? The question is asked by a correspondent who rides both roads out of New York and says that P. R. R. salad and 20th Century salad are exactly the same-and both good.
 There is a Christian Science Committee for Work in the Prisons in the City of New York which does much good among unfor- tunates. And one is unfortunate when he gets behind bars, whether guilty or not, I believe. Volunteers who are willing to visit the pris- oners and offer them such help as can be given and received don't have the most desirable spare-time jobs in town, but they are earnest and persistent in their work.
 Judge L. B. Hart, of Buffalo, young-looking for his surrogate's position, with bright blue eyes and prominent features, takes time out between dessert and coffee at a dinner to inform me that New York City would have to put up the shutters but for the citizens it's borrowed from Buffalo. Win nie Sheehan (really Winfield R., but always called Winnie), the motion picture producer, was born in Buffalo and was 8 newspaper reporter there long before the Big City knew of him . Frank OBrien. editor of The Sun, also was Buffalo newspaperman George Abbott, famous Broadway actor, was born in Forestville, so Buffalo claims him, and Jack Yellin, and but the list runs on and on.
 Fact is. wheels of the Big Town would stand still without the help of imported talent. But try to get born-and- bred New York CT to admit it!