The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1940-08-15

/ Life begins about dawn and more |
often than not ends then, also for |
some German flyer.
You do not need an alarm clock. |
You are awakened by sea gulls |
screaming - as the people here say
- Fish! Fish!!"! over the harbor.
They are eating well now because |
German bombs explode in the
water and kill fish for them.
About the time you have decided
to disregard the gulls and have
dozed off again, the banging Of q
3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns from all
around the amphitheatre formed
by the harbor shores brings you
bouncing from bed. You pull the
blackout curtains, clutching for the
trousers you had carefully placed
at hand the night before.
Needs More Eyes, Hands
1t may be only a lone balloon bus
ter who finds the morning air too
hot and makes for home. But by
this time the air raid sirens are
shrieking, and with one eye trying
to look through chink the black
out curtain and the other trying to
look in the mirror to shave, you try
to get dressed.
Maybe you are only half shaved
when there is an explosion that
shakes the whole town including
your shaving hand. You scrape your
face quickly, run for the stairs Il
you are warned not to use elevators
during raid - you tumble down
and into the street with others, in
Guiding army and navy officers on
leave, and watch the mornings first
show. Maybe you will see dozen
dog fights between Royal Air Force
planes and raiders they pursue.
The raid may last an hour or
more, during which time you work
up fine appetite, moving gingerly
to the water front during compare
tive lulls and then racing for the
nearest wall or doorway as the heat
is turned on and shrapnel fragments
and spent bullets fall at your heels.
Everybody runs. AS a veteran OF
many raids put it: You're a
CANNED IOOl OF d oedu HAL, VI UVUAi'
if you don't"
Breakfast interrupted
After abe all clear has sounded
the newspaper men line up fretfully
after a race for the hotels only tel
ephone booth. Then they break
fast, with incidentally all you want
of the finest country butter, despite
rationing.
You are probbaly just hopping
up your bacon and eggs when you
hear a whine. It is dive bomber,
in long whining dive. It sounds
as if he were over the hotel, but he
is after a balloon across the way,
Newspaper men overturn their chairs
in the rush to get to the street, and
photographers focus their cameras
as the planes machine guns start up.
Sometimes the balloon bursts into
flame; sometimes the German
misses.
Time Out For Peace
Then there is another alarm. But
nothing happens until the AL
clear" sounds half an hour later
and you can peacefully read the
morning papers until p. m, when
everybody struggles into the "Ameri-
can bar" of the hotel for pre-lunch
cocktails. 10, the blonde barmaid,
may say without looking up: There's
Messerschmitt" before you hear
| it.
But there is no warning yet. That
probably comes with your roast peer,
and you leave it to get cold while
you run out into the street again
to see the usual matinee. 1t may
last several hours.
After the dog fights are over
everybody goes into the hotel TO
doze in the lobby.
With my battle bowler" on, as
the tin hat is now called, I may
wander into the main street leading
to the water front. 1t is like siesta
time in South American port. Oc-
casionally there is a burst over
head but the plane is too high to
see or the German planes are lazily
trailing streams of white ribbons
across the blue sky too high for
anti-aircraft guns.
Streets Fill Up Again
BY tea time and pub" time -
the bars reopen at $50 p. m. Alter
having closed for several hours,
under the British licensing system
the streets fill up again and ship,
ping is resumed. But not for long.
Fifteen to 80 Dornier bornbers and
Heinkel fighters usually drop across
to our side of the channel for tea.
They get a warm welcome but no
tea, which is rationed.
For three days I tried to arrange
with the bath steward for a 8
O'Clock bath. Each time I had to
give it up. Similarly never reached
the desert course at dinner time.
Toward blackout time the Ger
mans usually pay their last mass
call of the day. Thereafter prob
ably only an insignificant lone plane
visits us, and he gets very little at
tention.
1t is a 9 o'clock town. Everybody
goes to bed early on the theory that
he may be up early. The first day
YOU fail into bed exhausted. You
ma yawake wit htne drone OF motors
in your ears. But if there Is no
gun fire and no warning you turn
over with the thankful thought
that it is probably the Royal Air
Force coming back from Germany,
and you fall asleep.
HISTORIC MILL GRINDS AWAY
Denton, Md.-CUP)-A 270-year-