Show Zm THE GOOD OLD DAYS CORNER Ry Freeman Lathrop OLD FELLOWS sat on the THE concrete wall that bordered the court-house The sun broiled down warm and but the Minute autumn air was 3 Fiction Tf I the clean striped shirt and blue serge hitched his suspenders what they used to be when I was he asserted to the man next out all sorts of machinery to do the farm young folks around in cars when I was a young buck you took your best girl for a buggy ride behind a pair of fast or you went to Funk's Grove or the Mackinaw for a day's picnic and it didn't cost you a Nowadays my grandson wouldn't start out on a date without five or ten dollars in his He looked up the the other one tilting his straw sailor back and tucking his blue shirt into his shiny grey striped move too fast for We don't get through one war till we're another and them politicians down in Washington are the country to the Now when McKinley was in A girl switched by In white shorts and a striped His sentence hung in The endless procession of cars whizzed around the their tires on the hot The city busses lined up in front of the drug They shook their heads The first one kept peering out Washington street toward the this is a crazy You see Their conversation was forgotten for a moment as a girl In white shorts and a striped Jersey walked Times sure had new houses springing up over night out in the new Look like freight cars sprawled all over the lots no no Fancy gadgets in the Give me the old days and not such a fast The other one your name and where do you hail that's a long He shifted to the other hip as if to tell then nobody's interested in it so I never tell I'm Clem Lived here all my and hope to die I've watched this town grow from a and hardly been across the state And OTHER FELLOW'S eyes narrowed as if he were seeing faraway Jed Traveled a bit in my Went to Chicago Lived out in the country my wife died last I like the but seems as good as it used to Too much bustle and There was a long silence while they watched a cab maneuver in and out of A woman driver and the usual delivery trucks were double-parking and gumming up the Horns blasted and women scurried across the Clem his eyes still squinting up the street watching for me the good old A fellow could saunter down to the harness shop or the livery stable to chin a bit and not be in danger of hi Nowadays I just sit here and don't try to navigate very Hate to even ride around with my grandson in the Too dang He eyed the corner Jed much to No more or medicine No camp A swank blue convertible drew up to the A sporty young fellow leaned out and called to I've been out to the airport and the I got your plane reservations and your pullman Everything is all Clem got up He looked at Jed son in D. C. has sent for me to come down and see tbt He's paying all my or I'd never Can we drop you off any rose I've got my scooter-bike parked around the corner and I'll just put-putt back to my There's a good television program comes on pretty soon that I |