Show The Grass Isn't Greener Othman Finds Things Are Best in His Own Yard B By Frederick C. C Othman V WASHINGTON ASHINGTON As an old European traveler still carrying a head cold picked up in Greece I can report that the U USA S A is isa isa isa a pretty fine place All the things I used to take for granted here particularly the little ones like a glass of cold milk now seem downright wonderful I dont don't suppose there is a countr country in Europe where you can casually drop into a lunchroom and drink milk without worrying about what's in it A quick lunch over there takes two hours A sandwich is a production In Athens and many another town the water from the tap isn't fit to drink JO Joy to Be Home What Im I'm driving at is that Its It's a real joy to be home and ride in an automobile with some oomph under the hood to get some real ice cream from the freezer and to sleep in a bed that isn't mostly bumps This is enough introduction I guess for my tale of an evening evening evening eve eve- ning spent in the White Tower restaurant in London with Roger and Eunice who are old American friends of mine Roger now is the news editor of the United Press in London while Eunice is a housewife in suburban Hampstead There are no screens on the windows of Eunice's house be because because because be- be cause the think they keep the air from circulating properly She does have one of the few electric refrigerators In Hampstead but she had to put up a fight for it The drains from her kitchen empty into the garden Journal a Mistake These minor matters dont don't worry her much her problem concerns the Ladies' Ladies Home Journal Journal Journal Jour Jour- nal to which she has been a along long time long time subscriber Seems that after she moved to Hampstead Hampstead Hampstead Hamp Hamp- stead she joined the ladies' ladies guild there and she thought it would be nice to pass her J Journal Journal Jour Jour- our our- nal among her fellow members This seems to have been a mis mis- take The ladies look at the advertisements advertisements advertisements adver adver- of ot all the things that can be bought in America she said and they practically turn green with envy envy They see those American push-button push kitchens and then they look at their own mostly with coal stoves and they cant can't stand it They Want ant Some They read about whipped cream that comes out of a can when you push a knob and they want some They want to try frozen orange juice and automatic automatic automatic auto auto- matic washing machines They wonder about garbage disposers and about furnaces that turn the heat on in the morning all by themselves Eunice said she feared she and her magazine had ruined home life generally in Hamp Hamp- stead That's why she wanted to talk to me She knew our house was complete with most of the automatic gadgets in including including including in- in one that brews a cup of coffee each morning by my bed and wakes me up with radio music She said if I could tell her all the defects of ot these marvels she believed she could report to her fellow housewives and thereby thereby thereby there there- by restore tranquillity ty to the countryside I did my best Furnace Leaked I told her how the freezer gave up the ghost one night and ruined a boxful of food how the furnace once leaked oil all over the cellar floor and how the garbage m made e silvery mincemeat of a spoon that got In by mistake Eunice took conscientious notes She said shed she'd tell the ladies But she wanted to ask one last question Did these widgets work most of the time or were they usually in the garage for repairs Regretfully I had to tell her that every last one of them was as good as the Ladies' Ladies Home Journal said She seemed disappointed You get the Idea I never realized until I left it for a afew afew afew few weeks how good we have haveit it here at home Copyright 1950 United Feature Syndicate Inc |