FROM MY WINDOW.

Shannon News, 7 March 1922, Page 3

FROM MY WINDOW.

A V.—PLAYTIME

(By "ETERA.”) Build lor yourself a strong box, •Fashion each part with care; When it is strong as it can be, Put all your troubles there/ Hide in it all thought of failures, And each bitter cup that you quaff, Lock all your heartaches within it, dhen sit on the lid, and laugh’” * * * * »

Kites are still in, also mouth organs. Who directs their incoming? l know the prevailing winds must have something to do with kite-flying, their presence -being a necessary factor for successful ascent; but the same

cannot be said lor mouth organs, marbiefc, tops, skipping, etc.; yet each has its own appointed time to appear, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians. Paper kites are vacillating creatures, not knowing what they want to do next; and the only time they can make up their minds is when near a set of telegraph wires—the more the merrier. Then they make a bee-line for destruction, leaving despair in the beating heart at the other end of the string. Failing wires, kites are willing to essay the circumgyration of any nearby lamppost; but this time the palpitating heart surrounded by boy will not be beaten, for he in turn essays a little gyrating, and the lamp loses its newly-acquired , ruffles, before it has had time to feel their distinction. And the boy departs, triumphantly, with hair standing on end like David Copperfield’s friend’s, as if it had met a cheerful ghost. * * w

I have seen some kites going up well lately. They rise from the ground like skylarks, but, unlike the larks, they "have no song in their throats, nor do they leave any nest of young ones behind. But they have tails which they -waggle, as who should say, ‘‘l am Sir Oracle.”

If there were young ones in a homenest, imagine how their tails would become entangled if any disagreement arose! Their food would not consist of worms, for kites only collect and eat-up string. For verification of T his statement, ask any mother with a houseful of boys how her string-bag fates, during kite-flying season. She will wear a martyr-like look momentarily, but all she will say in her loyalty- is: ‘‘Kite-flying is a healthy occupation.” * * # * *

Mouth-organs, on the contrary, may strain her loyalty,.. and she will uttei words of opprobrium, unless her boys practise, as did two friends of mine, up in a capacious tree, through which the strains of music could filter without offending onels musical senses But the boys played well, and we found it a treat to listen to this elevated if not classical music.

When playtime comes, put youi heart into it as much as when you are working. It is the timid Lather standing on the river-hank wondering whether the water is as wet as usual who catches cold. Jump in, man, even if it means an extra gasp or two. when you have come up again and shaken that newest fashioned tui't oi hair from your eyes, you’ll l'eel a different person, and will want to hurry away and meet a roaring lion or one or two Goliaths; or at all events you will be anxious to try that new catapult of yours such is the effect ol an extra effort. When you are lot working, rest; when you are not ill, be well; when you are not miserable, be happy. Don’t imagine that watching a big cricket match makes you a good cricketer—it may not even make you a good critic. Some grown-ups have' the erroneous idea that playtime is only for children; but we should be children all our lives in this one particular at least; then when serious troubles come, the pendulum will not swing all one way: there must he a time of healthful reaction that enables us to take heart again. One person in his playtime Hits like a butterliy from one enjoyment to another, finding in the constant change .the rest he needs; another will settle down on a holiday morning apparently— *

“As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean,”

with one idea in view,- and he still working out the idea at night. Two such opposite methods of relaxation are brought about mainly by what constitutes one’s daily work. The sedentary worker naturally craves a butterfly existence, if only for one day, while the other wants only to “stay put” and left in peace. Some people do not know when they are having a good time; they run after pleasure like an absent-minded man hunting for his hat, while all the time it is on his head or in his hand. * * * «•

Several little rules will help in the formation of a successful playtime:— Rule 1: Choose a suitable mate; one who looks on the sunny side and forgets to find fault even if it rains cats and dogs. It is more often to tire grumblers that the “bumps” come.