Evening star., 1943-06-21

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have pains in their digestive tracts
because they have eaten too much.
The idle cry out for Jobs. The work.
ers go on a sitdown strike. Boys
and girls want to be thought old and
sophisticated. The old call them
selves boys and girls and try to cam
outage themselves as mere lads and
lassies. And wives and mothers
complain of their husbands and how
they are tied down by their babies.
The old maids bemoan their loneli-
ness.
And so 1t goes. ad infinitum. No
body Is satisfied with the lot fate
wished upon him because 1t isn't
hundred per cent perfect, and
Lady Luck didn't make an excep-
ton in his case and make him the
one human being who had not even
crumpled rose leaf under his 40
mattresses Of ease.
Now 1t Is quite true that while
all of us have plenty Of things to
crouch about, we also have plenty
Of things to oh be joyful about, and
If we want to be happy, the trick
is to balance these against each
other and so strike the good average
that will enable us TO, at least, smile
at life, even If we can't laugh out
loud at it.
In a word, we must learn to trade
blessing against a grievance.
When we do that, we are astonished
ourselves to find what a good bar
gain we have made and what a
margin OF profit we have left over.
Take, as an example Of this. that
one thing that probably causes more
headaches and heartaches than any
thing else in the world. an uncon-
genial marriage.
Mr.. X, as we will call him be-
cause that isn't his name. in his
youth married a pretty little nitwit
girl. He grew up into being bril-
liant and talented man who is going
places in his profession, and he is
bored to tears by his dumb wife
whose conversational gamut ranges
from the kitchen to the nursery and
back again. More, he is ashamed
Of her and realizes what a handicap
she is to him.
Pretty tough on Mr.. X. If he al
lows himself to dwell upon his do
mestic burden, but he can tighten
1t If he will swap some of his wife's
fault for her virtues, and reflect
that though she may be shy on wise
cracks she is long on cooking, and
that he wouldn't have so much
money in the bank as he has If she
hadn't pinshed pennies, instead Of
throwing dollars about as a more
glamorous wife might have done.
And Mrs. Legion, who weeps into
her pillow because she is married to
a practical, unromantic business
man, who takes her for granted and
who thinks she is so all right he
doesn't have to keep telling her
about it, might find that she hadn't
made such a bad matrimonial bar
gain, after all, If she would reflect
that better is a husband who is a
good provider than one who is a
great lover whom she has to take
in boarders to support.
And just suppose the men who are
married to wives who are allergic
to gas ranges and who set them
down to meals that would give an
ostrich dyspepsia could think, as
they reach for the bicarbonate tab
lets, how entertaining and amusing
their Marys and Sallys are and how
they season a meal with wit even If
they forget to put salt in the soup.
And suppose the aggrieved wives,
who have philandering husbands
with wandering feet, could solace
themselves with the knowledge that
they, also, were treated as Lady
Loves, and that they never had to
remind their Toms, Dicks and Har-
rvs about an anniversary, or their
birthdays, or hint for what they
wanted for q Christmas present,
and that even If they didn't monop-
olize their husbands kisses, the ones
they did get were worth having!
Suppose the mothers who COM