Evening star., 1950-01-14
This and That
Rv Charles F. Troce,reU


1t has always been a matter of wonder to
Templeton Jones why women seldom have
their fares ready when they board public
vehicles.
pass is a handy thing to flash on a
driver. but no woman ever has one handy,
Jones says.
The ladies forget all about paying fare
until they confront the operator.
Then they dive into pocketbooks, push
lipstick, keys, etc., out of the way. seek and
find the small change purse, look through
it, decide the fare is elsewhere, start to
search farther down in the pocketbook
X
Templeton Jones swears he has never
seen woman have her fare ready.
Since he admires the feminine sex far be-
yond his own, he is somewhat taken back
by this lack of preparedness.
Women often have more sense than men,
according to JONES'
He likes for instance their wearing Of
gloves in public places.
What does man do in cafeteria?" he
asks. He answers "He buys his food, plays
for it with dirty money out of his pocket,
accepts dirty money in change, then goes
to seat, and proceeds to eat. A woman
handles that one somewhat differently. She
keeps her gloves on, until she has made all
the monetary transactions then she takes
off her gloves"
But when it comes to boarding a bus,
Templeton Jones says, women seem COM
plete ninnies.
"You would Think he says, "that small
pass in the hand is easy to have ready, but
you would think wrong. If you were a
woman.
"A woman stands on the corner, evidently,
as if nothing in the transit line was ever
going to happen.
Maybe she is a cynic, and thinks there
isn't. But at any rate, she usually has plenty
of time to go through the accumulation in
her pocketbook and get out the old pass-er,
the new pass-or the token, or the dime
and three pennies.
Men do. A man seldom fails to have his
fare ready.
women day dream, I suppose.
''They are planning what to have for din
ner, or what to say to Jimmie when he doesn't
get home from school. Or maybe they
are thinking of an old friend
''They stand, they wait. The fact farthest
from their minds is to the Grass necessity
for paying fare.
'"Theyi get on the bus, and suddenly they
realize that fare must be paid.
"Then comes the frantic search, when
little forethought would have prevented
| it ALL and would have speeded up the entire
| transit operation. 1t is only by the co-opera-
tion of all that traffic ever gets anywhere y
X
| Templeton Jones was expatiating on this
| theme to favorite bus driver Qt is scarcely
| necessary to say that the driver agreed with
| him.
What gets me-" said the operator, "is
| the way some people think a driver has
| X-ray eyes. They hold their passes down in
| the hollow Of the hand, and won't give you
chance to see it. You have to call em
| back, of course"
Jones started on his favorite theme.
NOV, these women" he said women
never have their fares ready"
young woman seated next to him looked
somewhat skeptical.
Never" repeated Jones. Then, as an
afterthought, from long experience, he
| added, to the air, in general "I suppose
| now that I have said that, every woman
| who gets on will have her fare ready. Here
| comes one. Now watch
The driver and the girl passenger watched
The woman swung up the. steps, extended
| her hand, and dropped in token.
The young woman passenger smiled.
In stepped another woman. N
She held up her pass. stuck it, rather
squarely under the drivers nose.
/ The young woman grinned. ~
tits just not my day." said Templetor
Jones. But when third woman passenger
began fishing In her handbag. he felt {
little better.