Imperial Valley press., 1944-12-07
NUBBlNS
BURRIS JENKINS

is the comparison FOUND recently IN
some casual book. and res nted at
first, but not on n sobercr rcflec-
ton. We had 4 Persian kitten at our
house like two handfuls of very
black fur and, of course, very mild
and funny at tn, beginning. We
named him "Tarbaby," but when he
grew TO be an eight or ten pound
animal. We never could be sure
which, because w could never make
him stay still in one place long
enough to be weighed. but anyway,
when nc grew TO be powerful big
cat, we had to changs the name to
"Tarboy."
Even when very small that black
limb of satan began TO walk kind OF
stiff legged. like a prize fighter on
parade. with an aggressive look in
his ey,. as much as TO say. better
get out of my way. here l come"
and il seemed as if he were talking
out of the corner of his mouth. At
all events, VIC very early formed the
habit of getting out of his way. Now
he is cock of the walk for the whole
block and neighborhood. YES, fierce
as a Persian cat" is just about cor
rect.
OF course. there is 4 gentle cat
down underneath with most of
them, but you have to look for 1t.
We met a P.rsian cat the other
night almost as big as Tar5oy and
tIrs
Tarboy is fierce. They say that this
big yellow fellow runs his neighbor-
hood Just as automatically as Tar
boy; but with much less an air Of
zcarishness.
Enough about Persian cats; what
VIC had in mind TO talk about in this
particular column is adolsscent
boys. Still they are very much the
same. We don't know any category
pardon the pun in nature in which
10 put 10 and 17-year-old boys, any
more harmoniously than among the
Persian cats. They ar, just about as
hard to control. just as pugnacious;
they come down the .causeway with
a deyilish grin in their eye and
talking out Cf the. corner Of their
mouth, to give th> impression of
toughness; and, goliy, arc they
tough?
The first big problem that fathers
and mothers have to meet is with
their high school boys. Society. too.
must met and deal with these uu-
lick'd CUBS of condition all over
again as every generation rolls
round. This is what we call the
probl M Of juvenile delinquency. We
hear enough about il now.
The one sure secret Of making a
livable human b,ing out of boy
of that age is to find the thing in
which nc can interest himself with
all his might. Many of them cannot
do il in school, partly because many
schools have not found this secret
tn mselveS. Partly, too, many boys
are not adapted to take book edu-
cation who arc admirably adapted
to take hand education. Not every
boy ought TO go to high school and
college. OF cour se, w, have our COM
pulsory education laws; but thing
is not always intelligent Just be-
cause il has been made into law.
Maybe il nC.Jds revision. Certainly,
any boy is worth more than any law.
If any lad is interested to 60 pros
pecting or mining and is absolutely
uninterested in what he gets in high
school, for h ,ayen's sake get the boy
out into the mountains or the desert.
If he is more interested in cattle
than calculus. then get him out
wher, the cattle are. Some Of them
would really rather be farmers than
hich school kids. Then see TO it that
they get into the thing which they
are vitaIly int rested in; that's the
biggest thing society does, to make
men out of Persian cats.
Every boy, sooner or later. dreams
of running away from home: very
wall. tell them TO so ahead If they
want to run away, 60 on and run
Just as far and as fast as they
please; but before you 60 be sure
TO tell dad about it SO he can give
you little money to buy crackers
and ch ese with when yeu get broke.
And come home any time you like.
you'll be cordially welcome. Mean
time, if you get stranded and don't
know which way to turn for lodging,
or food, or medical care, GO to the
police. The police arc the best
friends any boy can have. especially
if he is i'm troIbl1 or danger Of trOu-
bic. When boys give up the police as
friends, they are turning down the
very best friends thsy can possibly
have.
When a boy finds out that he can
run away from home with impunity.
then he Immediately says, "Aw,
taint no fun to run away If you
can go just anytime you want to-"