Evening star., 1948-12-07
This and That
Bu Charles Z. TracetDell


Templeton Jones, walking gayly along Quincy
street, in Chevy Chase, was in that delightful
state of mind popularly called thinking OF
nothing at all"
He took another step forward, under the
giant oaks, and as he did so-plop! as the
comic books say
A squirrel had fallen out of q tree, from q
branch 80 feet high, and had pumped down
on the sidewalk directly in front Of Jones.
Another step, and that fat rascal of squirrel
would have fallen squarely on his head, with
results unknown
AS it was, Jones halted.
A few seconds were required for him to real
ize that the sudden rush not inches In 1ront
of his face, and the decided "plop" or thud
on the brick sidewalk all came from squirrel.
The animal vanished the moment 1t hit the
pavement.
That is, 1t seemed to disappear.
Actually. it had simply run around one OF the
oaks, and gone up the trunk.
But to the astonished eyes of Templeton
Jones, the squirrel just vanished. 1t was all
that sudden.
Many persons think squirrels never fall in
this way but the fact Is that they OFTEN oo'
sometimes on Icy streets
In such cases, they may lie for as much as
10 seconds before recovering their wind.
Falling co. 30 or more feet Is not light
matter even for a squirrel.
1t is a wonder they do not do so more often,
seeing the extreme chances they take, in leap
ing from the tip end of one slender branch
to the thin tip OF another oough
Templeton Jones, always an admirer OF
SQUIRRELS wondered what would have happened
If the creature had landed on his head.
Since that day he wore no hat lin defiance
of the man on the radio who always says.
"A man without a hat Is undressed." or some
such words he could not help but shudder
at the prospect.
It is often this way with disasters missed.
At the time, they may leave one unmoved
but later there comes realization OF the
possible calamity.
Jones wondered If the creature would have
sunk its claws into his scalp, its keen teeth
into his nose.
He paled at the idea of those claws at his
eyes.
And the prospect Of a squirrels frightened
bite in his nose-ah!, that was enough to have
made even Hitler grow pale.
AS it was, Jones never had been touched.
"A man must have luck" he quoted the
aforementioned character, who said the line
when he was almost blown up that time.
squirrel is different from bomb. perhaps,
but not much, when it almost lands on your
bare head.
1t was curious thing. that Templeton Jones
had been walking under those trees for 20
wears hatless most of the time, and never
before had such an incident taken place.
Squirrels there had always been, scores and
hundreds Of them, running up and around the
big trees dashing across the street.
Jones had always loved to watch them;
they are so filled with life, so intent on what
they want. so humorous in natures original
humor, based on situation and response to it.
4 Il
The fun in the squirrel is natural fun.
1t has no relation to mans sense OF humor.
the American quirk-at least we like to think 1t
American-that gets fun all out OF proportion,
perhaps, to the intent.
The SQUIRREL as a fun maker, has no intent
at all.
He simply does something. or tries to do
something, and the way he does 1t and carries it
off strikes the sympathetic watcher as funny.
You have to be sympathetic to like squirrels.
These rodents are too quick for you, If you 90
not possess the ability of sympathy with brute
creatures
watched with some sympathy, q squirrel is
as funny as barrel Of monkeys, almost. He
has such cleaning little eyes, such an absurd
big TAIL such agility that he seems to be DASH
ing to a fire all the time.
He is blood cousin to the blue jay, the other
natural comic of our suburban areas. Between
the two squirrel and jay, the passerby, OF
whom Tenpleton Jones is one, has continual
| circus in his own block. AS much as he may
enjoy them, however, he does not want jay
| to peck at him, nor squirrel to land squarely
| on his ''undressed" bare head. He Is not that
much Of q naturalist.