Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1942-07-31
~
from the
Democrats Pen

concerned. was never very quick TO
find ont lust what kin somebody IS TO
ne-or. to some one else for that mat
ter: that is, if said kinship EXTENDED
farther back than yesterday, or the
person was not my own 1athef oI
mother; just like that.
I never was any good at answering
some of those kin-folk catch ques-
+ions. Some of 'em are as old as
am. but | hav'nt had long enough TO
get 'em through my noggin'. Some
bodv asked me this one the other day;
'If YOUR uncle's sister isn't your aunt
what relation is she to you y All
said was that l didn't care to argue
the question, and if she didn't want
to own up being my aunt, | wasn't
going to lose any sleep about 1t; she
could just be anybody's aunt that
struck her fancy.
Then / was pestered with this one
recently: 1.-TWO brothers were walk
ing down the street together One
said. Here come my two little
nephews. | must stop and speak toI
them The other said, AS I have no
nephews, I'll just hurry along u How
could that be when they were broth
ers? All l said was that ! wasn't
interested in their conversation or the
question of uncles and nephews, and
I'd just hurry along also. That's
enough to addle anybody's think tank.
Then, know you've all heard that
old jingle:
Brothers and sisters have l none,
Rut that mans father is my fathers
son."
All | said was that / was just like
that nah, that had no brothers nor
sisters either; and l let it go at that.
I lust don't bother with 'en. When
one of these smart alecs asks me
what kin my step mothers first hus-
bands mother-in-law's niece's third
child, is to my wife's nephew's wife's
child by her fourth husband, and con-
seouently to me, why, just throw up
my hands and tell 'em to shoot; am
ready to go. I'd just as soon sit down
to demonstrate a theorem IN solid
geometry, or solve a problem in in
finitesimal calculus, as to addle my
brain with such foolishness.
How-some-ever, reckon l amt the
only one who crosses his 'Ts" and
dots his ats" when rasslin' with such
stickers. Not many moo ago, a.
good talker came into my o. e and
told me he was gathering material
for a book that was to be published
in about a year or a year and half;
that it was to be largely biographical
in it's character, and that the list of
many names and sketches of disting-
uished Maryland citizens would not
be complete, unless mine was among
the number.
Ahem! All! we'll, l could, of course,
understand that sort of talk better
than the kin riddles. I could also
understand that when the aforemen-
toned book came from the press, the
distinguished names" contained
therein would be avenues down which
the publishers would walk to collect
25 or 80 bucks for volume of bio
graphical notes. !
Well, this hombre asked me some
thing less than thousand and one
questions. Some of 'em had to do
with my kin folk. There l began to
get ratified Honestly, l got so be-
fuddled, I didn't know whether l had
ever been born in the flesh. 1 almost
believed 1 was a poor disembodied
spirit roaming around seeking in
carnation and revealing the fact that
l was still nothing but an ETHEREAL
something or-other, doomed to eternal
nothingness. Mighty bad feeling,
wasn't it?
Well, the gentleman left me after
a while. Said he would write up what !
he had learned, and send it back to
me for correction. 1t came last Sat-
urday. It's all right, except the kim
ship business. He's written up my
career pretty straight; but, when it
came to ancestry, blest if he hasn't |
got my paternal grandfather married
to my maternal grandmother, and this
marriage was their first and last ven
ture on the sea of matrimony.
Now, I'd just like to know what re-
lation 1 am to myself. I don't know
whether he was affected by the crazy
spells that attack me when such tant-
alizing situations are encountered or
not. And don't know how this thing
is to be Strengthened out. If we've
both gone daffy on tangled relation
ship, how's that book going to strike
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