The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-04-01
KY Books
by a. de Q. Elngras
MOTHER

Il
| bleday Publishing Co., New York
City, 40 pages.)
| Many authors who publish short
humorous essays in magazines
and newspapers should continue
to do so.
] Author Ashbaugh Is one of
| these. He IS very amusing if read
flor ten minutes to a half hour at
| . sitting, but after that the
Laughter is strained.
i A wife and growing daugh-
tiers push the hero-father around
verbally and physically in most
of the pieces. While this is funny
for q short spell, the sympathy
for the father soon begins to
j irritation. The reader begins to
wonder why the big lug doesn't
rearrange his life, or is he man
or mouse? The laughter lessons
as the irritation grows, and the
similarity of the position of the
prota gonists becomes so sure in
1.-THE readers mind, he begins each
ESSAY knowing what is going to
happen.
Il The essays are all based on
situations which might normally
occur in and around a family liv-
ing in q surburh in midwestern
United States. There's father try
ing to dodge operating the lawn
mower and repairing . hold in
the plaster. And, of course, mo-
Their insists that father become
interested in the chiIdren't acti-
vities, and that he explain the
birds and bees 10 the growing
girls.
4 Daughter Molly too, explains to
father how working conditions in
the baby sitting industry have i'm
lproyed:
q. nearly al the mothers
| give fudge rights. They even put
the Cocoa and sugar out for you.
On top Of that I've got a Satur-
day two.to-five,thirty that gives
pie rights. Mrs. jackson over on
| Peachtree lane with the big yard.
Last week 1t was banana cream.
Two pieces IL I wanted it."
i And on the way to the bus
father tangles with a pre-school
cowpoke, who dares him to turn
| and fight like q man. ''He claim
led" says father shat / had rust
led his fathers cattle and was
holding his aunt for ransom in
an abandoned mine shaft. It was
useless to explain that / had
never met his aunt and If his
father kept steers he was viola
ting q city ordinance. The kid
| Just gave . short ugly laugh and
let me have II In the sweetbreds
II.
The authors style Is economi-
cal and reads easily. Some Of bis
1 paragraphs and sentences are
/ packed with wit and wisdom. Mr..
Ashbaugh says, = most mar
ried women think their husbands
spend the working hours deploy-
ed with fauns and satyrs, dining
On pressed duck and being en-
tertained BY lutte players in the
Railways"
And here Is his comment on the
father role In the community.
elm order to conform to stats
tics today q family man should
work hard. acquiring = modest
estate, make an incontestable win
and then 10 70 his Maker at an
early aga. This is q great help
to the United States Department
Of Labor, and verifies their find
ings that American women con-
troll fifty tive per cent Of the
nations wealth"
(TTME or THE CUCKOO, by
Arthur Laurents, comedy In two
acts, polished BY Random House
New York City, 1sl pages.)
The Encyclopedia Britannica
explains that the cuckoo Is a sum-
mer visitant 10 the world Of Eu-
rope. II prociains its arrival by
4 cry hearalding the season Of
love.
The action Of the play takes
place In q pensions IN Venice, on
several successive summer days
and nights.
The comedy shows varying at
titudes Of morality as evidenced
I in : group Of people, without any
Of them. The Italian Iandlady Of
many legitimate and Legitimate
loves says In her country there Is
no divorce, only discretion. She
tells the young artist that Amer
leans have an Impractical mora
llity.
The artists wife does rot have
too much On tbs ball. and At
tempts TO remedy the situation by
carrying around book on Italian
paintings. She sees only elear-cut
marriage and divorce. has been
married before, and from the
look II things another divorce
may be imminent
Ard of course. there Il the To-
svitahle unmarried American 20
man in her middle fhiFties. ph0
Is both moral and lonely When
the play opened o. Broadway "a