| Show W- W x f r r r W I AMM Yes said the Suburban Philosopher I pher as he watched the growing youth of the village trample down his grass plot all the worlds world's a baseball game and all the men and women merely players they have their innings in in- and their outs and one man In many it J his time makes m many many- ny errors so said the next-door next neighbor neighbor neigh neigh- 1 ti bor bar as he leaned heavily on the handle of the lawn mower life is a baseball C. C game arid some of us seldom score Fate does the pitching and It Is sometimes sometimes some some- times a swift ball that is sent across the plate one we cannot hit and the umpire that silent voice within us that says Yes and No to all things puts It down as a strike and we go wondering and blundering along a the time said the Suburban Sub urban Philosopher as he brought out the family hose and began frescoing scallops in the dust weve been to bat and the ball wasn't slow The ball you know Is opportunity In our game and sometimes fate sends it fast and sometimes slow Many times It is r tossed to us as if some child had pitched it In play We lay back with the the bit it hit it for all it is worth and it goes right in the hands of some lucky fellow out in the center field of r prosperity and we are down and out and back on the players' players bench with the sweaters and the sponges And again said the next-door next neighbor as he carelessly tore down about three yards of the trailing r ho honeysuckle we we do make a good hit send the ball of opportunity whizzing along through the grass rass past the second second sec see ond and baseman burning th tha shortstops shortstop's hands and we manage to to get as faras faras far faras as second base Doing pretty well established a nee little thing of our own got the rent paid in in advance employing employing em em- playing a bookkeeper and and putting money In bank and paying the Interest interest Inter inter- est on all our notes It seems so nice Then we get ambitious and we know so surely that we can get to to the the third base Increase the capitalization and make the competitor across the street t look like thirty cents We think the third baseman isn't looking and we do know that the whole world including the family is perched on the grand stand We make the run the baseman baseman base base- man sees us we make a wild leap In Inthe inthe inthe the air fall on the bag with all the skin knocked knocked off our nose blow the thedus dust dus from our eyes rise with a smile of victory and then fall back bacle to earth as we hear the umpire say Out Jut ut Life and baseball it is all the same But again said th the Suburban Philosopher as he pulled some stray weeds out of the w walk lk we sometimes do pass third base and even get to the home plate home plate and score The crowd on the grand stand goes wild and we go out and purchase se a larger hat come home and scold the children and get mad with the wife because she does not saem to appreciate what a good goodman goodman goodman man she married Look at that fellow fellow fellow fel fel- low across the street with the freckled wife and six children Been playing hard for years and never even scored The last time he was at bat made a afoul afoul afoul foul hit and was out the first ball fate sent him We get mighty proud over that one run we have made It has hastied hastied hastied tied the game and we have the Ule others guessing Great players we In the ball game of life Got the other nine working working work work- ing like sin sin- sinto to get o one e run ahead The game Is fierce We We forget all about time we are so busy batting at the balls of opportunity an and making money The sun goes down and the evening shadows come We keep on playing What do we care about the shadows We have got to beat the theother theother theother other fellows We Wem must We-must must st make more runs than they We are going to do domor more mor more business than the other fellow If it kills kills' us Th The shadows grow thicker the ball comes fast fas over the plate we strike at It but we merely fan the air and then that same umpire umpire um um- pire In a voice that is deep and sad I calls the game on account of darkness darkness darkness dark dark- I ness and we are done Yes said the neighbor as he took tooka a seat on the bottom step of the porch In the game of life as In the ball game after all what Is the use Wells Hawks |
