The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1940-09-13

>HEHE are terrible mo.
BELL syndicate-wNu Serviee.)

I1EtE are tefxlUle mo-
ments in any marriage,
- when it seems to both man
and woman that the light of
love and happiness has gone out
forever, and the only possible
solution is complete break.
Sometimes these moments
come in the first year of mar
riage-but not often. Quarrels
are cured then, and tears and
despair forgotten, in the COM
fort of making up. And with the
JOY of being friends again the
young husband and wife are al
most ready to agree that the
trouble was worth while.
After several years, too, IL per-
haps, or is, difficulties are less apt
to arrive. If there is fine quality
in both partners, real willingness
to forget and forgive, to change and
concede, to grow together in habits
and likes, then the marriage gradu-
ally becomes real thing-the most
perfect companionship human be-
ings can know in this life.
But in between the first year and
the twelfth year there may come a
bad time. The glamour of honey
moon days is gone, the novelty Of
the new life has worn away, life
has fallen into a routine of re-
sponsibilities and duties; office,
meals, busting, telephone, bills, get
ting the children off to school, petty
cares, petty amusements, petty wor-
ries.
Dangerous Years-for Women.
For certain types of women these
are dangerous years, when there
gradually grows upon them a hum
ger for excitement, change, ro-
nance; in short, a hunger for self
oppression. For they are apt to
find that self-expTession along lines
that hold no Interest for the other
member Of the team.
Take the example Of 36-year-old
Jean Porter, a Springfield wife and
mother. Jeans husband is employed
by one of the big utilities corpora
tons and earns a salary of about
$500 week. He travels a good deal,
and is fond of golf, poker, fishing,
movies, and his luncheon club.
Jean taught harmonics in the pub
lie schools before she was married
and has never lost her interest in
music. She plays the organ every
Sunday in a community church OF
no special denomination, but writes
that she has no religious convictions.
He's a Good Man But
Everything Bob does or likes, ex-
cept our common interest in our
girl and boy, is intensely and fear
fully boring-boring- TO mel"
writes Jean. "He is a good man,
who pays his bills and loves his
children; have never known him TO
be mean, although his horrible habit
of teasing me about my aspirations
and my pipe dreams and 'delu-
sions of Hollywood success are as
bad as meanness. gave up my
profession when / married, but I
have kept up my organ work, and
naturally / associate with musical
people. Three of these, TO whom
Bob especially objects, are a Rus
sian violinst and his American wife,
and his brother, who sings baritone
in the choir where / play the organ.
Home life, for Bob and me, has
grown to be mere civilities. He is
scornful of everything that means
self-expression to me, and cannot
reconcile myself to wasting time
upon the sort of entertaining and
party that he likes. Men in to play
card games. frankfurters and coffee
at late hours, trips of in the car
to some place where he can play
golf, while the children and smuse
ourselves, never any talk Of culture
or Improvement, never the reading
OF any worthwhile books-for Bob's
only reading is the newspapers, .
couple Of weekly magazines, and