Evening star., 1946-08-10
This and That
By Charles E. Trnce1peU

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lempleton Jones old electric fan was
peglnning to wear out, or break down
whenever it is ancient fans do.
IL would drop down to half speed and
then parel y go around at all, then sud-
oen!y pick up a bit, only to give I'm
nnally, as it returned to slow motion,
Jones thought it was nothing but dirt
ana perhaps that was it, since the con.
traption was 80 years old.
Jones was better diagnostician than
fixer. 'iiaii
He envied these clever persons who
could fix things. Men who could mt
tnelr hands to anything, in the spirit of
the pioneers, won his admiration
he, Jones, could do nothing. Mavba
he wasn't pioneer.
Wnat difference does 1t make" said
MRS. Jones, so long as you can nire
people to do it?"
AS long as his money held out. or as
long as his various governments-N
tlonal, state. etc.-let him have a little
money lett, he could get somebody else
10 DO 1t, whatever it was.
Such persons, however, had a wav of
knocking the paint off of something
else, or otherwise running something
every time he had to have somethinp
done. 0''-Ai's
Ihey were good walking arguments
lor dong thing ones self, and TemnIe-
ton Jones admitted it. but he was not
mechanically inclined, he liked to think
Such term covered a multitude of
sins, perhaps, but it was consoling and
maybe true.
X X +
Jones had to get his fan fixed, for this
oio ian piayed double role in his
household. A'A'
Not only did it kick up the regulation
preeze (Which always gave him aches in
MS neck ana shoulders), but above all it
was noisy. ~
Since the night he had discovered that
WIN THIS old fan whirring away, making
various Whirring and clacking noises. he
could hear nothing outside, the ancient
preeze maker held a sure place in his
affections.
Late night parties, dogs, radios-these
ana other nuisances no longer worried
MN, because all he had to do was turn
on his old fan and listen peacefully To
his own noise! W.
Ihere was good psychology behind
TINS, put Templeton Jones didn't worry
much over the psychology of a thing,
he was a practical man, and wanted
results. He was an imaginative man
too, and saw the fun in little things
lie knew that he must get his fan re-
pared, not so much to stir up a synthetic
breeze, as to drown out such outside
noises as might worry him.
He pondered the list of repairmen
Some of them, he knew, had a little
habit of looking at thing and quickly
saying 1885" before they had chance
OF knowing what was the matter with II
Jones finally selected one man whom
he could trust
Of he went to him, Juggling his ancient
apparatus.
The man peered at it, busted 1t q bit.
put in oil or whatever it is they use, and
turned the switch.
There you are" he said, as the fan
picked up and went to work in its best
old style.
This is a fine old FAM" he added.
You can't get one like this now"
How much?" asked Jones.
Not cent" the man replied.
Jones was still talking about his gen.
tleman and scholar repairman when he
got home.
And he didn't. charge me cent" he
kept murmuring.
That night there was a party down
the block. Jones turned on his fan,
with a smile.
1t whirred beautifully-bu so silently
that it did not in the least cover up the
outside noises!
i might have known" sighed Jones.
That fellow should have charged me.
He did too good job"