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Show 1 HIGH SCHOOL Pen Efforts THE ART OF LIVING By Charles Clements What is needed in this world is a school or asylum to teach people how to live. They need to know that more than anything else. Yet schools and institutions in-stitutions are telling them everything but .that. Socialism is alluring, women's wo-men's rights are needed, simple spelling, spell-ing, food chewing, prohibition, and criminal laws are all well enough, but still the one thing to know is to know how to live. That is what is the matter with all of those who go wrong. When a man commits a crime, it is simply because he doesn't know how to live. Why lock him up in a degrading degrad-ing prison ? Why not send him to a "know how to live school?" But why not send him! to such a school in the first place? Then he will not become a criminal at all. We even arrest a person that tries to commit suicide and lead him to jail when all the trouble is that he doesn't know how to live, else he wouldn't want to quit. Millions blunder along and make a mess of living because they have studied everything but how to live. RETALIATION (Sarah Pool) Twelve speckled roosters had once strutted in the O'ConnelFs back yard. Of the twelve, eleven had been caught killed and cooked for chance guests and Sunday dinners. Thanksgiving was drawing near. "Only about a week now. This is Sunday, Thanksgiving is next Thursday, Thurs-day, thought Mrs. O'Connell. If you're through eating come here Mike," she called from the kitchen where she was whipping cream for the cake. ' "Well here I am. What do you want?" "Come and look out the window." "Well I'm lookin'." "Mike, do you think you could get along without a turkey this Thanksgiving? Thanks-giving? You know our pocket book is nearly empty and I was wondering if you'd just as leave have me cook and stuff old "Speck" out there," she said molding her bread. "He'll be too tough to eat in a little while and any way he's just as big as any turkey we could afford." "Well, Ella, I guess the kids would like a turkey but everything you say is right, and you know darlin', I'd rather have chicken than turkey anyway. any-way. You can make it taste almost like my old mother could." "You old flatterer. You always were a great man to blarney. I'll cook Speck on one condition and that is tend to kill him." "Thats all right with me if you'll make lots of dressing to go with him I'll kill Speck." "Sure I will, and I'll tell you, Mike, I'd just as leave you'd kill him now, so I can hang him out." "Aw Jiminy wait until I eat my cake and take a snooze." "Well Mike, it's getting dark now." "Thats all the better. You know Speck is such a wise old bird that I hardly dare tackle him in the day time. "Well suit yourself but I don't intend in-tend to kill him." "Well you won't have to," he said through a mouthful of whipped cream and cake. Soon Mike was snoring peacefully on the lounge with the newspaper over his face. Mrs. O'Connell put the children to bed at eight o'clock and Mr. O'Connell still lay on the lounge snoring. "Mike, Oh Mike," she said, shaking him. "Wake up, its time to go to bed and you haven't killed Speck yet." Mike stretched and yawned and then unlaced his shoes. "Gosh sakes I don't want to go out in the cold now I'll get him tomorrow morning." "Well now listen here Mike O'Connell, O'Con-nell, I've had to kill every chicken, turkey or duck we've had to eat since we've been married. And, well, it gets tiresome." "Say, I guess I'm never tired, oh no! No I'm never tired I can work all day and ne'er get a bit of thanks I for it. Well, you had better come to bed if your coming. I don't want to be hearin' you ranting around when I'm trying to sleep." With that he hugged the quilts and pillow closer and went to sleep. Ella sat for a while by the fire. "So he is the only one who has slaved in this family is he. He at least has new-faces new-faces around him every day. While I, I, then she broke into tears of self pity which after a few minutes ceased. ceas-ed. Then her thinking became more resentful. "I work in this dumpy j place. He has what conveniences he wants to work with, and he has other things too. There's no use crying j though, I'll just figure some way to get even with him. So he was too 1 . tired to chop a roosters head off was t he. All he did today was sleep and eat and scold the kids because they wanted him to tell a story. I got the meals, kept the fires and tended the kids and waited on him and he's tired! I Well from now on I'm too tired to kill I roosters." The next morning Mike had an office of-fice meeting so he didn't kill Speck. Nor did he find time during the rest of the day, nor the next, nor the next, j Thanksgiving morning Mike had to see if his office was all right. He returned re-turned to a breakfast of fruit, coffee, toast, eggs and bacon. After breakfast, Mike was in fine spirits and complimented Ella on her ability to get everything just right. He even promised to tell the children a story after the Thanksgiving dinner. din-ner. Then he followed his usual present of just a little snooze which lasted till he was called to dinner. He awoke to find the table set and the children gathered round the table. He loosened his belt and took a chair at the head of the table and called out 'let's eat, I'm hungry." Then Ella walked in with hot chocolate and coffee, bread and bacon and eggs. "Oh, so we're going to have a dinner din-ner in courses eh Ella? Fine! kinda funny way to start out though. I'll just take one egg. I'm savin' up for the next course." "Better take what you can get." "Now, this one's enough. Have some, kids? Take as many as you want today." After everyone had eaten the eggs, the children pushed back their chairs and started out to play. Then Mike woke up, "Hey, you kids, haven't I taught you better manners than to leave the table before dinner's over?" "Well it is over," they chorused. "Why it is not. We're gonna eat (Speck and a lot of dressin' before we're through. "Oh so your going to eat Speck are you Make," said Ella as she re-entered the room. "Well chaw raw chicken!" chick-en!" she shouted, as she took her hands from behind her and threw Speck, flopping and squeaking, at Mikes head. . o |