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Show Kathleen Norris Says : Husbands , Take Notice/ Notice NoticeB.n / ! B.n Bn Ben . S1ftdleat Syndre.t Syndret S1ftdleatWNU Syndre.tWNTI . . -WNU WNU -WNTI WNTI - rutur Future . . / ' us - J JIr Ir Irl Irrl l rl ' " , e \ \ r rt t . s se e 0 . 0 0100 0 . r o - ' i i'Marty "Marty Marty 'Marty " ' 1 u $ quarantined quarwumed quarantined01 /01 01 for / ' the measlu measles and the , he thermometer a at ' 82 lf2 ana and anaDirk andDirk Dirk .a1JllB a1JllB saying . , 'Bathroom Bathroom 'Ilathroom Ilathroom ' window windows . crymg crying lor for five mllJUtel minutes ol.oap oloap ofsoap of soap . and w ler water ' " " By KATHLEEN NORRISIc NORRIS Ic 7'OU'VE 7OUVE ' OU'VE OUVE ' been harpmgfor harpmg harping harpmgfor UYOU'VE UYOUVE Yfor harpingYfor for months on the wartime wartune war- war wartune - . tune time duty of wives to tokeep tokeep tokeep keep the home front happy happy"writes happywrites , " writes Daisy Chalmers , a aspIrIted aspirited aspirited spIrIted young ma matron tron of ofSprmgfield ofSpringfield ofSpringfield Sprmgfield Springfield , Mass , ' "why why 'why " ' don't dont don'tyou don'tyou don'tyou dontyou ' you sometimes sometunes blow up the themen themen themen men for the ridiculous de- de demands demands de demands - mands they are making makmg on us ustheir , theIr stiff necked mSIstence insistence mSIstencethat insistencethat insistencethat that everything everythmg shall be ex- ex exactly exactly ex-actly ex actly - - | actly as it always was , war orno orno or 'no no ' no war , and their calm expec expec- - - tation expectation that a house WithOut WithOutservants withoutservants withoutservants servants will wall run just as assmoothly assmoothly assmoothly smoothly as a house with a agood agood agood good cook and a nurse m'T in m it ' 'T T ' 1 'I I ' have three adorable noisy de- de de5tructive destructive de destructive - - structive 5tructive little Uttle boys the letter goes goeson goeson goeson on ' "Dick Dick 'Dick " ' wanted boys and boys boysonly boysonly boysonly only and fortunately I 1 was able to toobhge tooblige tooblige obhge oblige They are healthy I 1 am amhealthy amhealthy amhealthy healthy I 1 am em a good cook with 1 I 1think Ithink Ithink think , , , a fairly even and amiable dIs dIspositIon disposition disposition positIon . . Until lust Just before Paul Paul , , the theyoungest theyoungest theyoungest youngest , , was bom born I 1 had a domes domesbc domestic domestic bc tic helper of sorts She was old old oldslow , , slow stubborn . , , but she was abso abse abso- absolutely absolutely > - lutely ! laithful faIthful aithful scrupulously clean cleanand cleanand cleanand and she loved the babies for their theirvery theirvery theirvery very naughtiness We paid Josie $15 15 $15a $15a $15a 15a $ a week Dirk s income is $6 6 $ 000 a ayeardoesn ayeardoesn ayear year-doesn year doesn - - doesnt t It sound big ' " But It Itisn itisn itisnt isn t as big as it once was And Andwhatever Andwhatever Andwhatever whatever it s worth now It won t tpay tpay tpay pay for a maid . . . f fCramped i Cramped In Apartment'We Apartment Apartment"We ' "We We 'We " 'We We ' live hve lave in a six room apartmentl1P apartmentvp apartment up l1P vp two flights of stairs Of course coursethe coursethe coursethe the children can t go out without me meand meand meand and when they do all aU tour four of us in includlng ineluding ineluding cludlng eluding Paul Paul , , , now a year old have haveto haveto haveto to be dressed tor for the street , , the thecoach thecoach thecoach coach has to be bumped out from fromthe fromthe fromthe the locker under the stairs stall'S stallS ' pillow pillowand pillowand pillowand and covers dumped into it and Paul Paulestablished Paulestablished Paulestablished established in state Crossing Crossmg a astreet astreet astreet street with a baby buggy and boys boysof boysof boysof of two and four is no tun fun gettmg getting gettmgthe gettingthe gettingthe the groceries home is no tun fun either eitherWe eitherWe eitherWe We have no dumbwaiter but the thedelIvery thedelivery thedelivery delIvery boy pants up our stairs stairstwIce stairstwice stairstwice twIce a week everything else Icarry I 1 carry .carry . myself myselt sometimes including including.Jack including.Jack includingJack . .Jack Jack . , , , or even my eldest eldest , , MartyNow Marty ' , Now I love all aU this I Im m equal equalto equalto equal"to equalto -to to - " it I 111 Ill U get through But what up upsets upsets upsets sets : me is my husband s mIld mIldsweet mildsweet mildsweet sweet incessant hinting hmtmg and critl crib critlcizing cribciting cnticizing cizing citing of ot everything everythmg I do Our part partot partof partof ot of town is as dirty and dusty grit gritcomes gritcomes gritcomes comes in and Dirk runs his Ius fingers fingersover fingersover fingersover over polished pOhshed surfaces and shows me methe methe methe the gnt gut gntAll gntAU gutAll All AU this distresses Dirk terrI terra terrIbly terrably terribiy bly ' "Would Would 'Would " you mmd touching up upyour upyour upyour your hair before betore we sit down dear dear'be dearbe ' " he says ' "May May 'May " ' I have a spoon that thatisn thattan thatIsn isn tan t quite qUlte so sticky " ' He asks it if the theboys theboys theboys boys have been out in the glorious gloriousfresh gloriousfresh gloriousfresh fresh air scowls when I Bay lay say only onlyfor onlyfor onlyor for ( an hour s marketing marketmg They ought oughtto oughtto oughtto to have more of ot an airing airmg than that thatBut thatBut thatRut But I 1 ve ye been washing washmg today Dirk Dirk'I DirkI ' 1 I say 1 Ive ve got almost a1most a hundred hundredpieces hundredpieces hundredpieces pieces out on the line Let s a . have haveno haveno haveno no excuses Daisy he says gently'I gently 'I I ' I m not criticizing cntlcizlng I 1 m only disap disappomted disappointed disappointed pomted pointed ' ' "When When 'When " ' I had influenza he took tookcare tookcare tookcare care of us all aU for three days then thenhe thenbe thenhe he be got a nurse in at eight dollars dollarsa a day the letter goes on He was wasfurious wasfurious wasfurious furious the house was never cleanr clean8e clean r Be 8e Considerate or orderly or quiet and he spooned spoonedcold spoonedcold spoonedcold cold cereal into mto the boys and went wentout wentout wentout out for his own meals Once Onceafterward Onceafterward Onceafterward afterward I asked him hlID hum what he hethought hethought hethought thought of ot my job He merely ob observed observed observed served that if he bad had it to do he hewould hewould hewould would so organize it that there therewouldn therewouldn therewouldn wouldn t be all that confusionwar contusion confusion contusionWar War Conditions ConditionsI ConditionsIm I m . a college graduate Intelli Intef Intelligent Intefgent Intelligent gent enthusiastic but I won t stand standtoo standtoo standtoo too much of this thisl ! ! Please write an anartIcle anarticle anarticle artIcle saying saymg that unless men menunderstand menunderstand menunderstand understand the infinite inflIute difficulties ot of othousekeepmg ofhousekeeping ofhousekeeping housekeepmg housekeeping these days the endless endlessjob endlessjob endlesslob job that Is that of ot a we wife ! and mother motherthe motherthe motherthe the complications compl1catIons of no laundry ne no- no notailor no-1tailor no 1tailor > - - ta tailor or no household help no dehver deliver dehverles deliversea deliveries les sea marriages will continue to go on onthe onthe onthe the rocks rocksWhat What started all aU this DaIsy DaIsyconcludes Daisyconcludes Daisyconcludes concludes was something somethmg that hap happened happened happened pened this morning mornmg Marty is isquarantmed isquarantined isquarantined quarantmed quarantined with measles the thermometer thermometer ther imometer mometer at 82 the baby refusmg refusing refusmghis refusinghis retusmgJhis his breakfast and Dirk putting putt1ng his hishead hishead hishead head m in the door after he bad had left to tosay tosay tosay say sweetly Bathroom wmdows windows wmdowscrymg windowscrying windowscrying crymg crying tor for five minutes mmutes of soap and andwater andwater andwater water ' Please write something somethmg that thatwill thatwill thatwill will make these exacting husbands husbandsashamed husbandsashamed husbandsashamed ashamed of themselvesDear themselves themselvesDear Dear Daisy Isay I say in m answer your yourletter yourletter yourletter letter seems to me to be as good an anargument anargument anargument argument as any I 1 could think thmk up upDIrk upDirk upDirk DIrk isn t the only husband who has hasgrown hasgrown hasgrown grown exacting exactmg and critical in m these thesetense thesetense thesetense tense days It s a partly a nervous re reaction reaction reaction action to the tearful fearful events that are areshaking areshaking areshaking shaking the world and as such suchought suchought suchought ought to be treated with pa lence ince inceand lenceand lenceand and kindness But at the same tIme timea a lot of husbands ought to wake up upand upand upand and take stock of themselves themselvesIt themselvesIf It If she s sweet , . , it If she s dIstracted distractedly ly and gaily doing domg her best it if she shecan shecan shecan can cook if she loves her children children'I childrenhome childrenhome ' home and husband-then husband then husband - then tor for the theduration theduration 'I I 'Ihome duration try to regard her as she sheregards sheregards regards you a high spirited finely finelytrained finelytrained trained courageous individual mdlvldual who whoIs whois whois Is managing managmg to get through the most mostconvulsed mostconvulsed mostconvulsed convulsed and agonizing agonlZU1g period otaU ofall of ot ofall all aU history with a minimum of nerve- nerve nervecenter nerve-center nerve center - . - center damage _ |