The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-03-12
THE HIGHER
THE FEWER
There's Always Plenty of Room
At The Top
By
NANCY ]. MIDGET

events, small or large, hang IN the
balance of how ones acts reflect.
The more responsibility a person
has, the greater will be the range
of his power to affect the lives of
others, sometimes even those who
do not know him or her, and have
never directly contacted them.
Thinking on this, the pool of my
memory stirs and the object the
ripples bring to the shadows -
rather muddy shadows, this being
Monday morning and brain and
body creaking slightly-is a mir
ror. We have it at home in En-
gland, at present in my sisters
apartment. Before, when my moth
er was living, it hung above our sit
ting room mantel.
A mirror, Oriental in appearance
with black lacquered wood work
over the glass and around, fret
work style, to expose a clear oval
as the center mirror with small
shelf underneath and touches of
gold and peacock blue paint on the
black.
1t was something special to dust
and clean in my early youth, for /
was told that it belonged to the
Mrs. O'Shea who was the amour
and later wife, of Charles Stewart
Parnell, the great Irish leader.
History meant terrible brain
pounding to me when at school and
never having realized how laws
and politics, of which history books
are or were largely filled, affected
our lives, it really didn't ring a
bell and seem possible that the
people living and fighting the bat
ties, making and breaking the laws,
were real live people with the same
feelings and as big problems as
ours, in their own time. The mir
ror, therefore, was one bright flash
from the past,-the recent past as
history goes,-which surprisingly
to me made a name in a book seem
real. 1t brought Parnell into focus
as human being that is, but l
still could not quote one of his po-
litical or law making achievements
to save my life. That of course is
not his fault.
He did so much and said so
much that was disturbing to Ire
land and the politicians of his day
that i would no doubt find, if /
started a research, that somewhere
along the wayside something he
did or said branched off and came
in my direction. Other than the
mirror that is. 1t seems strange and
somehow sad to me that an article
connected with the scandal that
closed his career is the one thing
that brings him to my mind for he
was one of the great. My father
would have known more of him. Ev-
en- so, it will leave me with a warm
thought for Parnell and his in spite
of the careful busting and buffing
/ had to give it in my time, some
times when / would rather have
been out skipping with my friends.
1t was to me beautiful mirror,
mostly because it was part of my
home and those very early, safe
days when skipping and playing
with hoops seemed important. Now,
the memory of the days has great
er value to me than the mirror.
The following effort owes its
being to the look of shocked horror,
or, so it seemed to me at the time,
that came on the face of our friend
and my sister-in-law, when she
reminded me that at an early date
she would be that thirty nine
plus" age. 1t made me search my
memory as to my feelings as birth
days doomed up, in fact as to
whether they doomed" or just
pleasantly arrived and I decided
that to me the thirty year mark
gave me the worst time. l really
felt l was a finished chick then.
Since then have been going more
and making more plans than ever
! had time or sense for earlier, so
it seems to me that dates on cal
endars are but mirrors that reflect
ones thoughts and attitude on ap-
preaching them and deeds and
words when one has passed them
by. In greeting and commiseration
therefore, / dedicate this to "Our
Rosie" and all others who may feel
"thirty nine plus" at any time of
life, from one of those many who
have had "the TOOTH" if not the
teeth, pulled and is now recovering
from the shock.
Oh! aged Hag" of ten times four,
You now have joined the dread
full fate
OF women who will never more
See twenty two or thirty eight.
But tho sometimes you may bewail
The past young years and hours
bright,
We know that YOU, with us, will