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Show Family Weekly Sewing Corner Picture Yourself In This Tailored Coat Dress OR The Day I MetAlJolson During World War If he entertained in almost every corner of the globe. One of the places he performed wasBelfast, Ireland. in the summerof 1943 I was 13 years old and lived in Glengormley, a suburb of Belfast. In fact, it wasn’t even classed as a suburb in those days—Glengormley was “out in the country.” And that year “out in the country” was a good place to be, for Goering’s bombs had already flattened one third of Belfast in aneffort to knock outits shipyards. To a 13-year-old boy, though, Glengorm- } Se aa A Reader's Remembrance: By Rosalyn Abrevaya A coat dress, perfect for 2 day in town or that special luncheon, is one to sewright now, when you can wearit with a light weight wrap. it buttons smartly on a slant, features contrast bands and cuffs, short sleeves. Make it easily in a woolor a blend. Size 14 takes 3 yards of 44-inch fabric and % yards of contrast. Standard body measurementsfor size 14 are: Bust 36, Waist 27, Hips 38. A PRINTED PATTERN ley had its drawbacks. Night life was nonexistent. There wasn’t even a movie house. So each night we'd congregate at the crossroads outside Boyd’s Fish & Chip Shop and hang around discussing the things that boys discuss, And this was where I saw him. Maggie Delaney was my “giri friend” in those days, and that Saturday was her i3th birthday. All week long I'd been saving my moneyto take her down to Boyd’s and treat herto a fish supper. With one Coke and two straws, the bill would cometo nine pennies. That would leave me three pennies with whichto impress Maggie Delaney. The Fish & Chip Shop was a small wooden shack that looked like it was ready to fall down-the walls weren't even plumb any more. That Saturday night the place was crowded as usual with young people; a great pall of smoke hungin the middle of the room, and the windows were fogged up with the grease of many years. When Maggie and I walked in, there seemed to be more excitement than usual. “Some Yankeesoldier” was helping Mrs. Boyd with her Saturday-night rush. He wore an American Army uniform, and he lookeda little old to be a soldier; he was bald-headed, and he wasn’t very tall (I was only 13, and I wastaller myself). But he had the biggest, loudest voice I ever heard. “Take it easy, take it easy!” he boomed. “Okay. Who's next?” He rushed around everywhere—the armyshirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows—waiting on the tables, cleaning Send to: FAMILY WEEKLY PATTERNS, Dept. 5287, 4500 N.W. 135th St., Miami, Fla. 33054 PLEASE PRINT Besureto give zip code NAME. MIREE Rs tS iiaehip ie Seatac SOa | Send $1.00 plus 25 cents for postage and handling; cash, check, or money order. Sizes 19, 12, 14, 16 (New sizing) F-800 State Size MakeAll Your Sewing Easier with These Companion Bargains [] World's most practical dress form—check box for perfect fit ‘‘Adjusto-Matic Form'’ with Stand. Adjustable 8 to 20. Order #7361. Enclose $8.98 and 95¢ for shipping. (Check boxto receive world’s finest sewing book, the 328-page ‘‘Compiete Book of Sewing.’ Valuable hem gaugeincluded—free! Rernit $5.95 extra with this coupon. #53501 ‘ Family Weekly, October 3, 1971 them off, taking away the dirty dishes. And he carried on a merry banter with everybody while he worked. “Y'know you kids are highly privileged, and you don't even know it!,” he shouted. “You got the best singin’ waiter in the world right here. I was singin’ songs before any of you were born. "Course you wouldn't know anything aboutthat.” He was right—we were all too young to have heard of him in those days. But the thoughtof this old Yankee soldier helping Mrs. Boyd through her busy period and ask- ing nothing in return—that impressed us. Someonefrom anothertable yelled: “Give us ‘Galway Bay.’ Bet you don't even know it!” He spun around in the middle ofthe floor, set the dishes on the nearest table and sang the song right through from startto finish. “That Yank’s wastinghis timein the army, that's for sure,” nodded Maggie Delaney. He may be a Yank, we concluded, buthis father wasprobably a Dublin man. He put the pennies in my shirt pocket, and I felt my face scorching. “Thanksall the same, sonny,” his voice boomedall over the Chip shop,‘‘but | don’t accepttips.” After “Galway Bay” he raced through a couple of fast songs that we'd never heard before.It wasdifficult to make out the words, the way he charged through each songlike a human tornado. And whenhe finished, holding that long, high note with both armsspread wide, it felt like a hurricane had swept throughthelittle shop, ripping up everything in its path. We sat there a few seconds—40 or 50 youngsters stunned into silence—then we burst into frantic applause, whistling and screaming for more. But he threw up his hands and said that that was enough. “It won't do to give you too muchofa good thing for free,” he said. Hewascleaning the tables again when we decided to leave, for Maggie Delaney had to be home by 10. Trying to impress her, I fished the three pennies out of my pocket and left two of them on the table. We almost got away, but he spotted my pennies, weaved through the tables like an eel and caught me by the arm. He put the pennies in my shirt pocket, and I felt my face scorching. “Thanks all the same, sonny,” his voice boomed all over the Chip shop, “but I don’t accepttips tm AlJolson, and I've more money than you ever saw.” I took Maggie Delaney home, and as I walked back to my house, I wondered who Al Jolson was. WhenI got home,I asked my mother: “Ever hear of Al Jolson?” “A! Jolson!”she said. “Certainly! Seen him years agoin the movies.” “He was down at Boyd's tonight serving at the tables,” I told her. She looked up from her knitting, peering over the top of herglasses, “Who was washin’ the dishes?”she asked, “Bing Crosby?” —Tom Maxwell, Brooklyn, N.Y. |