Show Kathleen Norris Says That Too Late Feeling Bell Syndicate Features 1 j k-i k w t tJ 1 J i i iv v v f Vv 1 i I r J i if f 7 j RYAN Older persons try to advise hotheaded hot youth it is the tragedy of 01 all the that hot headed will generations youth never er l listen ten By KATHLEEN NORRIS T F P A GIRL could only see I I things now as shell she'll surely surely surely-surely surely surely see them a few years from now wails Rosamond's mother The man admits to 47 Rosamond is almost 18 SEe says she will vilI be married on her birthday He has been married before he has sons older than she is he must depend depend depend de de- de- de pend on her small fortune for he has none of his own and no job and yet she is completely infatuated atu ted with him and nothing nothing noth noth- ing he her her grandmother and I Ican Ican Ican can say is of any use Well poor Rosamond must be left to her fate if it she feels like that and allowed to ruin her life lite in her own way We parents cant can't save our children from their follies If love and advice and example have no effect then sometimes they have to be allowed to go over the whirlpool and swim to shore afterward afterward afterward after after- ward as best they may But Id I'd like to know more of Rosamond's Rosamond's Rosamond's Rosa Rosa- monds mond's background and satisfy my suspicion that something was lacking lacking lacking lack lack- ing in her training that she can be beso beso beso so utterly beyond ina influence ence and control now Where did her mother fail Cail her Somewhere you may be bevery bevery bevery very sure As for seeing things in youth as we see them a few years later later- how different this world would be if we could How many miserable young mistakes would be avoided how much we could save ourselves Older persons try to advise hotheaded hotheaded hotheaded hot hot- headed youth It is the tragedy of ot all the generations in turn that hotheaded hotheaded hotheaded hot hot- headed y youth uth never will listen Now Wants Baby Back Marie Louise a college girl in our town went on certain free and easy casy parties house-parties a few years ago and did what all the others did In other words she entered into a love-affair love with a man she hardly hardly hardly hard hard- ly knew and didn't care about par par- The result was a heartbroken heartbroken heartbroken heart heart- broken family Camily in Minnesota to which she returned in disgrace and anda a small baby's concealed arrival and hasty disposition for tor adoption The girl married discovered that she could not have more children and went to the town where her child lived Jived She saw hw saw a small Cair fairylike fairylike fairy fairy- like little girl with a wistful searchIng searching searching search search- ing little face tace The neighbors said that her parents foster weren't too kind to her And the mother was helpless She came back home as she had come in the beginning to reproach me for having advised adoption And yet adoption in these cases certainly gives a baby a better chance than to be raised by an unmarried mother and marked with the still inescapable stigma of illegitimacy This was the girl who told me that irregular sex relations In her school days didn't concern anyone but herself Then there is Betty another childless young mother who had a silly quarrel with her brother when they were young Just a few hot words about the girl he be loved and eventually married and nd there was wasa a barrier between them forever Pride on neither side would break breakdown breakdown breakdown down and cant can't break down even now when they need each cach other so For Jim has been widowed and has two small girls to raise and Betty lost her husband in the war and Is hungry for tor maternal cares cures Just Just a n phrase of apology and regret would have ended this 10 years ago brother and sister dont don't know other other each omer ower now But Marie Louise and Betty BettyV V fr J Ivl l J n She returned in disgraced disgrace RASH WILLFUL ACTS Few people like to take ad ad- vice This is particularly true of the young and headstrong A girl who thinks she knows better than anyone else cannot cannot cannot can can- not be reasoned with sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times there is nothing to do but to stand aside and let her hergo hergo hergo go through with her foolish plans Miss Norris tells o of f an 18 year-old year girl who is determined determined determined deter deter- mined to marry a man 47 years old with two grown sons He has no job nor any income It is hard liard to see why she is so infatuated with this middle-aged middle man but so she is is Nothing her mother or grandmother can say has any influence on her It is obvious to everyone that Rosamond is in for a heartbreaking ence Many other foolish willful people are suffering needlessly needless needless- ly 1 continues Miss Norris because because because be be- cause o of f stubborn pride For instance a woman quarreled with her brother years jears ago She is now a widow and her brother a widower He has two small children This brother and sister would like to help each other but pride stands in the way Quarrels over wills divide many lies The occasions for flare- flare ups are numerous and longstanding longstanding long long- standing feuds develop all too often from trivial circum circum- stances On the other hand concludes concludes concludes con con- Miss Norris everyone has leas frequent opportunities to tomake tomake tomake make amends for the harmful acts o of f life by little deeds o of f kindness and thought thoughtfulness arent aren't the only ones Which one of ofus ofus ofus us doesn't look back at some foolishness foolishness fool fool- some indiscretion some mistake of youth with bitter regret Just to have been ordinarily polite to mother as she worried and plead plead- ed Just to have Jack ack that gone pack eve eve- ning ping and surprised dad by spending spending spending spend spend- ing an hour beside his sick bed reading to him Just not to have written that angry letter Just not notto notto notto to have cultivated that dangerous friendship against everyone's ad ad- vice Just to have forgiven and forgotten forgotten forgotten for for- gotten the unintentional slight or orthe orthe orthe the accidentally overheard crit crit- To have made less of or the tangible thing Grandmas Grandma's op opal opal- I- I pin breast-pin or Aunt Lizzie's Canton set set and and more of the spirit of giving giving giving ing and sharing It is a strange heart beart indeed that does not remember scores of ot these omissions and stupidities some of ot them seemingly slight some of them affecting our whole lives But what we must also remember remember ber in hours bours of compunction and remorse is that all about us are other opportunities for kindness and thoughtfulness chances to save ourselves ourselves ourselves our our- selves fresh reason for or regret in inthe inthe inthe the years to come Sometimes I Ifancy Ifancy Ifancy fancy that generosity today actually actual actual- ly wipes out those old mistakes and that to have learned the lesson is ismore ismore ismore more Important than the p painful way in which we had to learn it To Tosny say I was wrong and that that is past I start from here to go right is to have mastered a very important important important tant mystical secret There Ther is no blunder stupidity sin of ot youth that may not be wiped out and forgotten forgotten forgot forgot- ten and if it we will have it so ma may I Inot not be turned from loss into gain |