Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-24
Daily ShOEs SaOry
Life in the House
By lsAREL IOHNsION

BY lSABEL JOH\SToN
ALICE forgot WHIST SHE and Dr..
~ husband "evc Ga5reHr-
about. Ii was just ono of ,rru
usual arguments Ihry had
married very young. before tneN
knew What they wanted The
three children bad como In rapid
succession.
She and Dudley had Gu7Trc'rd
about the children and before tEc
children all the year, ever since
There was hardly anything thel
agreed upon Now eho an7 Dudley
were shocked into lWc'rcSs.
Roddy. their NuurCc>i their
baby. was asking hl, father fo
write note. note giving hU
| permission % join frg navy. Why
Roddy was only u. Alice fully
expected 10 keep on quarlcirE
with the children father tor five
more years. until Rp5iy wa>
through with college and on his
own.
Then. as She often told herself
and sometimes told Dudley too
their marriage would fall apart
Then she and Dudley would oacH
60 their own ways But She hagn Q
expected il 10 happen SO quickly
SQUABBLING HOME LIFE
Leave homo ." She E8spcd.
and then fell silent, thinking Of
the sQuabblng home life she had
given her children.
you're sure YOU don't want
20 finish your schooling" bud I
/ ley asked. almost humhlv as Il /
/ he. too were feeling guilty.
'Why, dad. YOU know
wouldn't he able Ia do any study
7 ing Roddy grinncd, wanting
) TO get into IL. too"
Is Fighting isn't all fun" Dud-
ley warned him.
'T like Scrap Roddy in
sisted. Especially when it's for
> something worth fighting for"
\ For a moment. Alice felt as If
Roddy were the adult in the family.
and she and Dudley the children,
fussing childishly over trivialitieS
all these years. Quietly, she,
watched Dudley take out paper
and pen. Dudley seemed confused
and uncertain, but Roddy was all
confidence. As Dudley hesitated.
sRoddy began debating the letter.
NO MORE FIGHTS
} Then and there, Alice resolved
there would be no fights in the
family to mar Roddy's last memory
of home. II had been different
when the other children left. First.
Paul had graduated with honorsI
from a local engineering college,
enlisted in the aviation corps and
gone off 10 California to train.
She had wept TO think the
promise of Paul's brilliant career
might be cut short by an aviation
accident. Yet, when Dudley had -
voiced the same idea, she had
jumped all over him.
Betsey's marriage had inspired
an even more violent fuss. Alice
had liked the young captain who
bad courted BetSey so impetuouSly
But Betsey was only Is. Alice c
had fought against the child's t
marrying so young. She didn't +
want Betsey 10 make the same I
mistake her mother had made. c
"You mean making the same v
mistake we both made" Dudley a
had growled hastily. "You I
needn't worry, Betsey has more
sense than both of us"
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
Dudley didn't object 10 the
youngness of the marriage. But b
he didn't think the boy was good S
enough for his Betsey. He didn't a
think a chap with the right s.
stuffing would ask a girl 10 leave g
home and follow him off to an 5
army camp. Now, if ii was some =
young chap they'd known for O
years. some nice chap who'd leave
Betsey with her parents while he
went off 10 war, It would be :
different. +,
Both Alice and Dudley argued u
with BetSey-and each other. In q
the end. Betsey had her way and
her wedding. Oddly enough, the a
really violent family battle had f
centered about whether Roddy or {
his father should wear Dudleys
dress suit TO the wedding. b
Alice couldn't remember now b
just which side she had been on. S
But she did recall the horrible q
scene when they discovered the
suit fitted neither of them and /
they'd had 10 rent suits for both I
a. the last moment. G.
NOTHING IN COMMON
Dudley and / haven't n thing
In Common" q