Evening star., 1944-02-11
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,DeU

THIRTEENTH STREET.
Dear Sir:
I have long been a devotee of vour
column in The Evening Star even though
Tor the last three years or so you have
poured forth almost nightly about our
1eathered friends (once you lay hold of
an interest you surely do grip YOUR
teeth into it, and scarcely ever let po).
am like unto one Of your followers of
recent publication who told how she had
loved your writings until you went so
soldly for tropical fish and for bird
lore I am much more interested in
your book topics, PHILOSOPHERS on living
records. or even sneezes (was glad to
nave one OF those recently and a few
Iempleton Joneses, together with Mrs
Yolanda Bonifant.
L recently purchased whole wheat
bread for the pigeons that come to the
pullolng where 1 work II know 1t was
because of your admonishments) We
were seated at our desks. when in upon
us fairly dashed little man. with bale
1ul glare in his distended blue eyes. and
without any preliminaries inquired
harshly, Does either of you women
throw bread out the window for brds?
L said, Yes, 1 do With that vou
should have heard the TRADE to which
ne subjected us in no uncertain terms
that he had not only to clean up the
mess OF bread from the top of his car
which he claimed was parked beneath
our window, but also the mess from the
birds.
Our assistant chief clerk let this
strange being know that We were situ-
ated directly over driveway and that
no car could possibly be parked any,
where near to us on either side or lust
below.
would you not think he would now
nave the grace or manners to come back
to us and apologize for his behavior
toward those who were not in any way
guilty OF molesting his precious car?
Sincerely, s. T. H."
Our correspondents sense of time is a.
bit of. 1t has been eight years, rather
than three, in which we have written
about the birds
AS to the irate gentleman who walked
in and began to browbeat the ladies
without premilinaries, We are divided
between cenSure and a certain admira-
ton.
Most men, perhaps, would never have
said word, especially to persons whom
they could not have been sure were the
right ones.
1t takes a certain kind of tempera-
ment to walk right in and sound off.
Perhaps such people are the happiest
because they get 1t out of their systems,
even if, as 1t turns out, they are wrong
into the bargain.
Courtesy is just common sense And
one may think that lack of common
sense, at times has its good points.
No doubt this is one of the lures of
war, that there is no common sense. or
even intelligence. in it, 1t is just whoop-
hooray, boys, here we come, and man.
kind loves it, despite all the protestations
about peace.
Our belief is that the pigeons prob
ably carried the bread to the top of the
car to eat it.
Or they might have knocked it from
another window sill to the car parked
below.
Those who feed the birds must expect,
every now and then, to be berated about
1t. There is no good done in this world,
either large or small, which is not sub
ject to criticism.
1t seems to be part of doing good.
And such criticism is best answered
by using the common sense of courtesy.
as our correspondent did. Often simply
saying nothing at all is the true courtesy.
Quarreling human beings are normal
humans. Going on a camping expedi-
ton for two weeks, in peacetime, and
letting the whiskers grow, is dearly loved
by male beings. War, too, has these ad-
vantages.
Courtesy is more or less of q civilian
failing, in q sense, and in a way of
speaking.
Yet the odd thing is that Army and
Navy officers are the most courteous
people in the world, which is not to be
wondered at, since they know all too
well the times and places where the
rules Of etiquette do not apply.