Show kathleen norris says to 70 live Is to change bell syndicate feature 1 I I 1 r I 1 I 1 r now elinor wears oily slacks and a checked shirt and disappears every craning ning a n half past pass six to return exhausted after midnight and steep sleep until noon by KATHLEEN NORRIS THE HE trouble with tom Tc change hange smith is that I 1 he wont with the whole world changing around him with every day bringing its staggering new res responsibilities and sweeping away the old ways of living and khinki thinking n g tom has set himself against the current and is making his f family mily miserable because he simply wont change A few years ago tom and his wife lived peacefully in a pretty home with a nice japanese maid to keep everything comfortable with a son in college and a daug daughter ahter just going into her pretty happy late teens they had a car and a club and neighbors and everything they wanted but the day after pearl harbor the son bruce enlisted in the marines they dont know where he is now then the small maid disappeared and there was nobody to take her place so emily smith began to serve meals in the kitchen and tom hated that then elinor his bis daughter took a course in something somewhere and now elinor wears oily slacks and a checked shirt and disappears every evening at halt half past six to return exhausted after midnight and sleep until noon elinor Is making patt patterns ans for the parts of some complicated piece of armament and she cares tor for nothing in the world but that the maximum quota shall go 90 out of the factory every week emily toms wife gives tour four days a week to hospital wards she does the hardest grimiest gri work in the world faithfully and loves love it war conditions anger tom also she and elinor work continually for the canteens make sandwiches paste up scrap books they buy bonds go to red cross rallies they both wear the silver button that means they have given their own blood to save the lives ot of unknown men all of this makes tom mad he grumbles and threatens if the women in his house dont come to their senses pretty soon hell go off somewhere and find some other women who have sense enough to know when well off what do they expect of him he always take good care of his wife and family on sunday elinor and I 1 always make a real fuss over housekeeping emily smith writes 1 I have a good break breakfast last put the whole house in order wash my hair write letters abdat and at three have a real sunday dinner chicken and biscuits and dessert but even that please tom because he scolds all through everything no now this is something met like why cant we have this sort of thing every day house in order nice dinner and you two looking the way you used tol to we get so tired of it it if we say but theres a war he says 1 I know theres a war and theres food rationing 1 I know theres food rationing and everybody EVERYBODY has got to get into this thing and shove ahead so that our war effort will be the most titanic thing that has ever happened in this world so that our victory will be pressed down and running over three times four times bigger than it need be so that aggressive nations wont raise their heads tor for a thousand oh just talk he says there are lots of oth er women better suited to nursing and engineering than you two are 11 now there are lots ot of toma tom in TOM SMITH AND THE WAR tons tom smith is stubborn he knows theres a war on but he cant see why it should make any difference to him or to his family why should his daughter work to the point of exhaustion in a defense plant why should his wile wife give four days a week to the hospital wards instead why dont don t they do their housework and take care of their routine work but his wile wife and daughter know the answer they know that if everybody gets into this thing and shoves ahead our war effort will be the most titanic th thing ing that has ever happened in this world america and I 1 think its 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 but we are going to pay away everything else we have time 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 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 would mean that there was a gap in the line between two other mens sons far out on the fighting frontiers sons just as dear as yours to have emily always at home chopping spinach and answering the telephone and putting your clothes closet in order would mean that in some tar far away hospital some boy whose life could be saved died for lack of care what are you made of tom smith that you dont see Us this that you dont make a great adventure of it as your wife and daughter are doing that you dont cheer the women up when they get home tired dont pick up an occasional win the undying gratitude and affection of those two women by suddenly coming to your senses praise them tor for the patriotism that Is making them pour their full devotion into the count rys need talk over dinner plans with them ask them what y you ou can bring home r reassure assure e them that tha t the heated up bea beans ns and tea and the bakery cookies and the salad bowl will be plenty for you americas saving spirit lets not overlook the good side of this time of deep anxiety a 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 c hange change the discipline the broadening they are getting arent 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 tor for more than a year our girl went to a coast city and Is working in a defense plant minna was left without a child in a big empty house ashes taken in six small boys ages tour four to eight their working mothers pay her 10 a week for them we have a big yard yarda t a big attic and now thanks to my wonderful wife a big family she Is busy all day long and laughing most ol of it our meals arent formal no ta on the long table paper napkins lots of peanut butter sandwiches apples and milk but were too busy to worry and tor for the duration if we cant have our own children well have children anyway |