Evening star., 1949-07-06
This and That
By Charles =. rracetoeu


The great god Fear grinned horribly:
II am the One men never see,
''The hurt they never feel" said he.
II am the wrong they, cannot bear,
'The poison they themselves prepare:
II am the shadow on the stair"
Anon.
Actually, the shadow on the stair is not
half as bad as the creak.
Stairways have odd habits Of creaking
at intervals, especially at night.
1t happens in the risers Contraction is
caused by temperature change.
But who can assess the change in the
human mind and heart?
That old creepy feeling induced by snap
ping boards somewhere in the house, goes
back to the cave days Of thousands and
thousands OF years ago.
1t is night. when all through the house.
not a creature is stirring. not even mouse,
because there isn't any mouse.
Even q mouse cannot cause q stairway
to creak. to snap. the way the dropping
thermometer can.
The night has way Of magnifying sounds
Too much coffee. some say; too many
cola drinks, others; the caffeine content Is
approximately the same.
What is that?
The old god Of Fear is getting in his work
The shadow on the stair is becoming
vocal.
Here a creak, and there a creak, and no
mouse between the treads. (Mice seldom use
stairways; they like to 60 up between walls.
Centipedes use steps,
Night sounds come from all directions.
NtHopa {c avaI a$o
Some night bird (they are all night birds
at night, Of course) makes soft sounds to
itself.
Many Of the smaller species do this, though
one must be close to hear them.
Night sounds get back to the house. 1t
is amazing how many noises a house can
make at night. Lowering temperature has
much to do with it, but there also are noises
that must go on continually but are seldom
heard in daytime.
Sometimes houses have wood borers, and
these fellows are seldom heard in daytime
not because they do not operate. but mostly
because there is enough other noise to
drown them out
Kind hearted persons, awake at night, may
occupy their time thinking of the birds
asleep in the trees and evergreens.
Inere is Dig evergreen up on the corner
where scores Of common sparrows sleep.
They begin flying into 1t long before dusk.
The cardinal is the latest bird to go to
bed. His knees" relax. as he strikes the
perch, and this action tightens the claws
The sounder the sleep of the cardinal
(and of all other species) the tighter the
grip on the branch. That is why they never
fall off during sleep.
The winged sleepers only become "un-
hitched" when they awake. It is q natural
action for them then to straighten out their
legs and as they do so the claws relax, the
muscle tensions ending.
There is no ,creak on the stairs for the
birds. Their minds do not harbor appre-
tensions. Or do they? No one knows ex-
actly what bird thought is. It may be that
they. too. have conscious minds and SUBJ
conscious, the latter harboring deep Of an
cestral memory. SO that the saving of ever
green boughs in the wind speaks one knows
not what dangers to the bird minds. Along
with all wild creatures the birds must sense
danger. If possible. long before they see it.
at least long enough to stir up the adrenalin
in their blood and so enable them to make
their getaway quickly. The big tiger cat
Leggy knows when a thunderstorm is COM
ing, and seeks refuge under the cabinet in
the kitchen from two to four hours before.