The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1946-08-13

one time or another fancies her
self a matchmaker.
If the two victims Of her ener'
gy cooperate and wind up at the
altar the matchmaker takes al
the credit she feels is due her
She calls loudly upon all who
will listen to bear witness that
she is responsible for this step in
the direction of establishing pos
terity. Her attitude is that OF q
person, who, having seen her du-
ty, did same nobly, at great per-
sonal expenditure of time, money
and emotion.
Even if the matchmaking does
not quite click, she sits back,
signs, shakes her head deprecat-
ingly and says that well, 1t was
a grand idea, anyway, and if the
two people involved had any
sense at all they'd be happily
married this instant, because
goodness knows they were just
made for each other, only the
poor dopes haven't brains enough
10 see it, and will be sorry later
on.
Since / am no different from
any other woman, l once essayed
q spot of matchmaking myself.
Looking back on it, realize that
I should have been doing a little
scouting on my own behalf in
stead of another woman's, be-
cause at the time / certainly
needed husband as badly or
worse than she did. But that Is
beside the point.
For trip to Europe, back in
the thirties, / elected to travel
on small, slow ship, believing,
in my wide-eyed, trusting way,
that it would be nice and quiet
and Festful. When | went aboard
there wasn't anybody in sight ex-
cept one old man being wheeled
up the gangplank by another
doddering old man, which
strengthened my belief consider
ably that ! was in for the quietest
of times, maybe too much so,
end ! began to wonder if maybe
that quietness business couldn't
be carried just little too far.
Several hours later was wild
er-eyed than eva', this time with
shock, because as soon as we got
under way that ship took 'on all
the serenity of the alcoholic ward
at Bellevue Hospital in New York
after a particularly convivial
convention night.
At the end OF five days there
was a momentary lull, mainly
because practically all the pas
sengers had knocked themselves
completely out by that time and
were resting voluntarily in their
staterooms or confined there UNI
der strict orders from the cap
tain, and in the strict care of
brawny-armed stewards. The
sudden silence was frightening,
and the few of us who We're still
up and around cast about in our
Minds for something to stir
things up little.
what we need on this boat" I
observed sagely, sis wedding. "
md That was no lie, because
some of the things that had been
going on aboard that boat
but never mind. That also is be-
side the point.
Several of the thirtyish- aged
and unmarried but ever-so-win-
ing-to-be females pricked up
their ears What they would like
better than anything else, of
course, was the stellar role in a
wedding ceremony, but failing
that. almost any wedding, any,
where, gave them a feeling of at
least touching the fringes Of
something they knew nothing
about, always a vicariously thrill
ing experience.
My next step was to look over
The likely prospects aboard, weed
the impossibles out and settle
on the lucky partners-to-be. That
took practically the balance of
the voyage, because the place was
full of weeds. But by the night
of the Captains Ball / had every
thing in readiness, two fine pros
poets, two deck-chairs placed in
eharmingly intimate proximity in
q darkish spot on the upper deck
where there would be fine view
of the moon Shimmering on the
ocean, and / had even typed out
an imprisoned proposal for the
man to deliver and an equally
imprisoned acceptance for the
woman to reply with. Probably
they wouldn't need this last-nam-
cd assistance on my part, but /
was leaving nothing to chance.
The Captains Ball is always a
gala lining, with every one cos
tuned and masked. mediocre
champagne flowing like water
and people gay to the point of
frenzy. To top the whole thing
off with wedding was my idea,