The guardian., 1940-11-02
THE SIMPLE THINGS
OF LIFE
ly MABLE |. CLAPP
Mcclure Syndicate WNU Service.I


marvellous that | got that exact
shade of blue in the hose?" queried
Susie ecstatically
Il should say" sighed Aunt Ella,
that for 81 anyone should be able
to get anything she wanted in the
way of hose. When | was your age
paid 81 for three pair of stockings"
And it was that very evening that
Sam told Aunt Ella she'd better stay
for the rest of the winter.
Susie had been delighted to ask
Sans Aunt Ella for a two-week
visit. Sam said Aunt Ella had had
hard life, and never had had any
fun, and Susie resolved to give her
the time of her life.
Wen go to some good shows"
she planned, land I'll take her
around to the shops, and we'll have
the best little dinners-you'n see."
But somehow the plan hadn't
clicked. The good shows had left
Aunt Ella cold. She said she
couldn't understand how so many
people could spend money merely
for pleasure when thousands were
starving. She ate the good little
dinners with the simple comment
that that standard of living was all
right if people could afford it.
well, Susie had said to herself,
"it's only for two weeks and l can
stand it that long all right. And I
won't say anything to Sam about it
either" But when the two weeks
had stretched to four, and then Sam
had suggested she ay the rest of
the winter, she laid the situation
before him.
"She says people have got to get
back to the simple things of life"
"Such as what?" encouraged Sam.
"Oh, books" vaguely, land not
going to shows, and bread pudding
and thick soled shoes"
Now, Honey" began Sam de-
terminedly, the thing for you to
do is to pay no attention to all this
'Hark from the Tombs' hooey. I'm
sorry asked Aunt Ella to stay the
rest of the winter, but / don't see
| how l can very well tell her I've
changed my mind. But l won't
press it, and I'm inclined to think
Aunt Ella won't want to stay much
longer anyway" And that was that.
Another week went by, and still
another. Susie's mother, dropping
in one afternoon, found her daugh-
! var alone and wrapped in gloom,
Aunt Ella, it developed presently,
being out for the afternoon.
''What in the world is the matter
with your" asked Mrs. Jarvis.
"Its Aunt Ella, said Susie with
little quaver in her voice.
We'll, what's she done?" inquired
her mother cheerfully.
"She thinks everything's wrong"
walled Susie, and all she talks
about is the good old days. She
/ thinks that ice cream is a luxury
and that you shouldn't have chicken
more than once a month"
Mrs. Jarvis stretched out one
hand and studied critically a perfect
manicure. "She eats the chicken
and ice cream, doesn't she?" she
asked.
"Why, yes" was Susie's answer.
"And goes to the shows?"
eyes, but"
"But she still wants the plain and
simple things of life?"
''Why, yes, but"
"Well," said Mrs. Jarvis rising
and drawing on her gloves, "why
don't you give them to herr" Susie
opened her mouth to speak-and
closed it without a sound.
The week that followed went down
in the Thornton history as the Week
of the Pot Roast. 1t, the pot roast,
had not been so bad the first night,
rich and brown, with fluffy dunn
plings and lots of nice brown gravy.
1t had even gone over fairly big
the second night, a la casserole.
But its successive appearances were
received with less and less enthu-
siasm by the head Of the house.
Whats the big idea?" he said,
gazing darkly at the piece de resist
ance when it had reached the state
of hash. We've been whiting
away on that cow now for a week"
Don't you worry, young man."
said Susie blithely. 1--WE saved
$325 out of the housekeeping allow
ance this week"
But the pursuit of the plain and
simple life didn't stop at the Thorn
ton table Sans suggestion that
they run around the corner and call
on their friend, Gary Cooper, was
instantly vetoed by his better half.
1--WE go the movies too much," she
said decidedly. And besides want
to get caught up with my mending."
And Sam subsided behind his paper
grumbling After a while he fell
asleep and snored. Susie darned
away pacidly Aunt Ella darned,
too She had really fallen rather
hard for Gary Cooper
1t was less than a week later that
the Thorntons accompanied Aunt
Ella TO the tram for her return
home She had received word, she
said, that recessitated her leaving
Immediately.
We'll" said Sam, after the train