The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-05-18
PROMISE

You VIII be missed but not when
 hope is small
 And I revolt against the tricks
 of fate,
 You will be missed but not when
 recall
 The awesome shutting of a quiet
 gate,
 Not when the winds come racing
 down the sky
 And there is chill and famine in
 the air =.
 Not when the heart Is desolate and
 and dry =.
 Not when the eyes are mirrors of
 despair =.
 You will be missed when life it at
 its best
 When every rose has opened to
 tlI, sun,
 You will be missed when I no longer
 quest
 With all goals made and every
 victory won;
 For this is love to share the
 least delight
 And bear alone the terror and the
 night! p. s. In Washington the other mid night they were talking about Sen. Bob Reynolds and how marriage made @ Beau Brummell out of him. The first day he resumed in the Senate Following the honeymoon) colleagues noticed that he finally got haircut.
 Later, one of them said: Gosh Bob,s had his suit pressedp
 To which one of his critics added: ''That daughter of Evalyn MacLean certainly has done things for Bob Next thing you know he'll be wear ing the Hope Diamond!"
 Some of us were gabbing about pungent drama criticism. A Broadway vet recalled Woollcott's slap at a second-rate musical. "The pot" he wrote, hasn't a leg to stand on and there are chorus girls to match"
 Pvt. W. Wilk of This Is the Army" tells of the bloke who brought his troubles to The Good Will Hour. "Mr. Anthony" he began, my best friend ran away with my wife. They've been gone month-and, MT. Anthony-I miss himl"
 A wilson Mizner anecdote we hadn't heard before: A pal played cards for IS straight hours and told Mizner he was weary.
 "Shucks," Miner said, T once played Spit on the Table Poker for three days and nights"
 What in the world is that?" asked the pal.
 The game was so crooked,' said Wilson, that the players didn't dare turn their heads and so they had to spit on the tablet"
 Don't tell me it didn't happen. heard it myself in the Pentagon Bldg, where General Maxwell and General Searles were walking along the marble corridors. Approaching them 8 Negro attendant and an old gent were talking. You say your son is in the Army?" said the Ne gro.
 'Yes, indeed" said the old man. 'Is he stationed here in Wash ington?"
 VT should say not" was the re- tort, which the generals must have heard, Ines @ real soldier"
 A reader requests the origin of the word racket. It was under worldese for party. In the old days in New York on the lower East Side when holsters ran a dance or affair for pal in a jam-they sold tickets to 1t.
 Were gonna have a racket Fri day night" they'd say. Often smau-time gangsters would employ that theme to get ready money, with no thought of holding the event. Such cheats were called track eteers". And when a stranger was being checked, they'd ask: Whats his racket?"
 Britishers in Tunisia are splitting their sides over this one. One of the Tommies there lost his bayonet and rather than face the consequences of admitting the mis- demeanor, carved out an excellent imitation of the missing weapon For weeks he went about his duties with the fake concealed in his scab- bard, safe from censure so long as his handiwork went undetected. When the inevitable order came to '.Fix bayonets," however, he was undone. He simply stood there, his scabbard untouched.
 The sergeant demanded an ex- plantation. "It'S a promise I made my father" said the Tommy. AS he lay on his death bed I told him I would never bare bayonet on the anniversary of his death"
 That's the damndest fish story I ever heard!" the sergeant thun- dered. "Lemme see that bayonetl" For breaking a solemn prom ise," said the Tommy as he slowly drew forth the bayonet, may the Lord turn it to wood!"
 H. Skepner's observations: "The only thing wrong with married life Is that man can't do the things he's not supposed to do."
 An MGM writer decided he want ed to get into the Army. I'm serious" he told pals. T want to be one of the best soldiers"
 And this is what happened at the induction center. He re- marked that the place was crowded and that it was so stuffy The psychiatrist heard him and marked down "Claustrophobia".