The guardian., 1940-11-30
Starvation
Diet
g
By ELEANOR HART
Mcclure syndicate-wNU Service.)


| ~ to her blue and white checked
gingham lap. Three dollars
and ninety-one cents lay under her
gaze, in bills and coins. That was
food money for the week. It must
last until Bill went to the bank
on Saturday morning, as was his
custom now while he was out of
work, and withdrew just enough to
pay their way through another week.
And this was Monday morning.
Three dollars and ninety-one cents
was enough for their food. Sally
was a good cook, a good manager.
She and Bill were young, with
healthy appetites. They really lived
very well, and had to take long,
beautiful walks-Sally couldn't help
being glad she and Bill were having
this time together with Bill at home
so much-to keep from gaining
weight on what they called their
starvation diet.
So, with Sunday out of the way,
three dollars and ninety-one cents
was quite enough for them for the
rest of the week Sally sat down
to plot out meals for the next six
days.
Lets see," she said to herself
I'VE could have spaghetti with
chopped meat and tomato and onion
sauce for dinner And Drowned par
ships. And lettuce with french
dressing. And stewed Strawberries
and crackers and cheese. Coffee.
Strawberries-three quarts for twen-
ty-nine cents. Well have them fresh
in their hulls for breakfast and I'll
stew and jam the rest. Let's see
what else's a bargain" And she
ran her finger and eye down the ad-
vertising column of her grocery
store in the morning paper. Both
eye and finger stopped suddenly, just
before they came again to the straw
berry ad. Her eye had wandered to
the date line at the top of the paper.
It was Bills birthday date. They
had agreed not to celebrate, with
gifts or other outward semblance,
any anniversary this year. But real
ly-it was a shame not to have a
| pII Illudy ullllSI.
Her eye and finger switched across
the pages to the butchers advertise
ment. "Broilers,' it read. "Splen-
did Bargain, 27 cents a pound"
And back to the grocer's ad: As
paragus, twenty cents. Green peas,
two pounds for quarter. New po-
tatoes. Russian caviar. Olives
stuffed with baby onions and cloves.
well, why not? Why not spend
it all, and charge some more, for
one good dinner? A birthday dinner
for Bill!-Tl do It'll"
Sally ran to the telephone, scat
tering her horde of money as she
went. "I'll keep it for the meat and
odds and ends" she thought. "But
I'll telephone for the groceries and
vegetables and charge them"
So Sally telephoned. She was one
of Stratforth's old charge customers
and her charge order was welcomed
by the clerk.
Phillips must have job again."
he said to another clerk Mrs. Phil
| lips is ordering again.
Then Sally set about planning the
best dinner she had ever served.
She'd pick flowers before it got hot,
and make the house look its pret-
test, and then go for the turkey.
She filled vases with iris and roses,
her choice early blooms, she got out
her very best Italian linen table
cloth, and pressed the wrinkles out
that long standing had printed in it.
She and Bill entertained friends now
and again at dinner, but spaghetti
and stewed fruit does not call for
the more formal table furnishing de-
manded by caviar and turkey.
Then the telephone rang. Sally
pulled out the plug of the fatiron,
and answered it. 1t was Bill.
"Sally," he said, excitement in his
voice. 81 think I've landed some
thing-something good, really. /
don't know for sure, though"
And after she had listened enthu-
siastically to him, and made a few
encouraging remarks, Sally said:
Home to dinner, Bill?"
"Of course. And Sally, maybe
it'll be our last starvation dinner.
Not that they aren't good. They're
swell. But won't we celebrate? Sal
ly, want to take you out for our
first fast-breaker Wen go to the
best place we can think of and bust
the bank. Have that spaghetti stuff
tonight, will you-with the meat
chopped up so little you can't see it
without magnifying glass? For
my birthday dinner? I've got sort
of superstition about it. Unless
you've ordered"
"Oh, no, Sally lied bravely.
"Sure wen have it. l haven't or
dered yet, Good luck, Bill"
Sally hung up. In a minute or two
she took off the receiver again and
gave the grocer's number. She cam
celed her order, "But take substi-
tute, she said. Zone package of
spaghetti and a pound of white on
ions, a loaf of yesterdays bread,
and three quarts of those strawber-
ries you're advertising"