Show i Kathleen Ia Norris Says To Live Is to Change Den Bell Syndicate Features Feature S 5 1 Iii 1 i 5 I j 49 ii lily I Iau au I I Now N ow Elinor wears wean oily slacks and a checked shirt and disappears every elery et ning fling nt at past half six to return exhausted after midnight and sleep until noon By KATHLEEN NORRIS HE trouble with Tom THE T Smith is that he wont won't change With the whole whale world changing changing changing chang chang- ing around him with every everyday everyday everyday day bringing its staggering new responsibilities and sweeping away the old ways of living and thinking Tom has set himself against the current and is making his family miserable because he simply wont won't change A few years ago Tom and I his wife lived peacefully in a i pretty home with a nice Japanese Japanese Japanese Jap Jap- I anese maid to keep everything everything every every- i thing comfortable with a son sonin sonin I in college and a daughter just going into her pretty happy late teens They had a car and anda a club and neighbors and everything they wanted But the day after Pearl Harbor the son Bruce enlisted In the marines marines marines ma ma- rines they dont don't know where he is now Then the small maid disappeared dIsappeared disappeared and there was nobody to take her place So Emily Smith began began began be be- gan to serve meals in the kitchen and Tom hated that Then Ellnor Elinor his daughter took a course in something something something some some- thing somewhere and now Elinor I wears oily slacks and a checked shirt and disappears every evening at past half-past six to return exhausted exhaust exhaust- ed after midnight and sleep until noon Elinor is making patterns for the parts of some complicated piece of armament and she cares for n nothing thing In the world but that the maximum quota shall go out of the factory every week Emily Toms Tom's wife gives four days a week to hospital wards words She does docs the hardest grimiest work in inthe inthe inthe the world faithfully and loves it War Var Conditions Anger Tom Also she and Elinor work continually continually continually ally for the canteens make sandwiches sandwiches sand sand- paste up scrap books they buy bonds go to Red Cross rallies they both wear the silver button that means they have given civen their own blood to save the lives of unknown unknown unknown un un- un- un known men All of this makes Tom mad He grumbles crumbles and threatens if the women in hi his house dont don't come cometo cometo cometo to their senses pretty soon hell he'll go oft off somewhere and find some other women who have sense enough to know when they're well ofT off What Who t do they expect of him Didn't he always take good care of his wife and family On Sunday Elinor and I 1 always make a real fuss over housekeeping housekeep housekeep- ing inC Emily Smith writes I 1 have havea a good breakfast put the whole house in order wash my hair write letters and at three o'clock have a areal areal areal real Sunday dinner chicken and biscuits and dessert But even that doesn't please Tom because he scolds all through h everything Now this Is something like Why cant can't cantwe we have this sort of thing every everyday day House in hi order nice dinner and you two looking the way you used to We get so tired of It If we say But theres there's a war he says I know theres there's a war Arid theres there's food rationing I 1 know theres there's food And EVERYBODY EV EV- rationing everybody EV- EV has has got to get into this this thing and shove ahead so that our war effort will be the most titanic thing that has ever happened In Inthis Inthis this world so that our victory willbe will willbe willbe be pressed down and running over over over- three times four times bigger than it need be be so that aggressive nations nations nations na na- na- na wont won't raise their heads for a thousand years Oh Ob that's Just talk he hc says There are lots of other other oth oth- er women better suited to nursing and engineering than you two are Now there are lots of Toms in TOM SMITH AND TIlE THE WAR Tom Smith is stubborn He knows theres there's a tear on but he cant can't see why it should make any difference to him him or or to his ills family Why should his daughter work to the point o of f exhaustion in a defense plant Why should his wife give four days das a week to the hospital wards Instead wh why dont don't they do their housework and take care of their routine work But his wife and daughter know the answer They know that if everybody gets into this thing and shoves ahead our war ar effort will be bethe bethe bethe the most titanic thing that has has- ever happened in this world America and I 1 think its it's about time that they waked up to the fact that nothing has ever happened in the world before like what Is happening now We are going to hold firm to the fundamental Impalpable things that make us Americans the divine right we have to freedom and security security security se se- se- se but we are going to pay away everything else we have time tune money effort to end the war and solidify the peace To have your daughter Idling around the house now with a little pretense at schooling schooling schooling school school- ing and a good deal of dancing and going about would mean that our great war factories were short one invaluable engineer To have your son at home finishing college ollege would mean that there was a gap in the theline theline theline line between two other mens men's sons far out on the fighting frontiers sons just as ns dear as yours To have Emily always at home chopping spinach and answering the telephone and putting your clothes-closet clothes In order would mean that in some far faraway faraway aw away y hospital some boy whose life could be saved died for lack of care What are you made of at Tom Smith that you dont don't see this That you dont don't make a great adventure of it as your wife and daughter are doing That you dont don't cheer the women up when they get home tired dont don't pick up an occasional dishtowel Win the undying gratitude and affection affection af af- af of those two women by suddenly suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly coming to your senses Praise them for the patriotism that Is making making making mak mak- ing them pour their full devotion into the country's need Talk over dinner plans with them ask them what you can bring home reassure them that the heated up beans and tea and the bakery cookies and the salad bowl will be plenty for you Americas America's Saving Spirit Lets not overlook the good side of this time of deep anxiety aman aman a aman man writes me from Terre Haute Ind God knows we would have given our lives we older folk to keep our boys at home But the change the discipline the broadening broaden broaden- ing they are arc getting arent aren't all bad And on the home front let me tell you what one woman has done The woman is my wife Our three boys have been In the service for more than a year our girl went to a coast city and is working in a defense plant Minna was left without without with with- out a child in a big empty house taken in six small boys ages four to eight Their working mothers pay her 10 a week for them we have a big yard a big attic attic at- at tic Uc and now thanks now thanks to my wonderful wonder wonder- ful wife wife wife-a a big family She is busy all day long and laughing most of 01 it Our meals arent aren't formal no tablecloths ta ta- tablecloths on the long table paper napkins lots of peanut butter sandwiches sand apples and milk But were we're too busy to worry and for the duration duration dura dura- tion if 11 we cant can't have our own children chil chii- dren well we'll have children anyway |