St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-08-17
Something TO
Think About
BY Maurice Il. WhIte

By Maurice #. White
Well, here I am back at the
typewriter again, Although, was
only out Of the city for a small
segment Of the time was away
from this coumn, it was a vaca-
ton.
The value of a vacation does
not necessarily lie in going any
place or doing anything special.
The primary purpose Of a vaca-
ton, I believe, is merely to have
a planned and extended INTERRUPT
ton Of the daily routine. My de-
sire to discontinue writing this
column for a month was based
upon this belief.
While this column was not being
published, you no doubt saw my
byline. A fire horse may be re-
tired, but he still runs when he
hears a fire alarm. BY the same
token, a writer must write when
a story slaps him in the face.
For the past four weeks have
accumulated a pile Of magazines
and scraps of paper with notes on
them: all ideas for future columns.
However, to begin this coming
year - Of pearls of wisdom from
the Homespun Philosopher - +
thought I would pass on some re-
Elections OF my eight day motor
trip to Chicago via Centerville,
Iowa, in the form of jottings.
On the road 200 miles in a
binding rainstorm night sky
pitch black wife worried :.
strange highway only white
center line distinguishable in wall
Of water and blanket of darkness
wife worried children
slept E. slow driving, 80 miles an
hour followed tail lights of
trailer truck ahead truck
turned off wife worried =.
children slept outran storm,
finally, Hampton, Iowa wife
relieved daybreak break
fast and gas, Colo, Iowa chill
dren cried, did not want to wear
seat belts Iowa roads i'm
proved . sun bright and hot, at
mosphere, humid Centerville
tired
Centerville wife's home E.
a round of kisses for all :.
grandmother in command, chill
dren got rotten by the hour E.
hot and humid weather wife's
favorite activity, lodging old &C
quaintances who knew her when
wife's cousin, ferocious ap-
petite and bottomless pit for
stomach slept with children,
sore back the entire stay E.
muggy weather tired E.
circus parade in town square e.
animals, flea-bitten and smelly . 3.
children excited saw mock-up
of tail section of airplane blown
apart in mid-air near Centerville,
May % suffocating weather
. tired -.
On the road again blister
ing heat raises from highway in
waves lunched in Burlington,
Iowa Illinois, cool and humid
thunderstorm near Chicago :.
first sight of massive free ways
Chicago . my home tired
another round Of kisses more
grandparents plus uncles i
slept with children, back still sore
my favorite activity, doging
relatives who remembered me
when weather cool, damp and
cloudy Chicago Museum of
Art, wife's idea, not mine i
needed map to drive downtown
changes everywhere i
underground parking E. new sky
scrapers freeways, skyways,
expressways projects, pro-
jects, projects Negroes, Ne
groes, Negroes wife flabber-
gasted me too tired &.
lodged more relatives E. Chicago
Museum of Science and Industry
changed since last seen, 10
years ago captured World
War II German U-boat River
view, Chicago's equivalent to ane-
mic Excelsior Park children
completely spoiled now, grand
parents will be grandparents
and uncles will be uncles fire
broke out in garage behind house
two doors down no one hurt
tired .
On the road tired chill
dren cried, still did not like seat
belts on when awake . children
slept . . wife slept no sleep
for dear old dad freeways,
freeways, freeways tired /
Back home tired but happy