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The Brussels Post, 1951-2-28, Page 3The Last Straw l3y Lula W. Kellam 1n their earlier married years Elora and Ralph \Nihon were an ideal couple. sloth were handsome ani jolly, with identical tastes and frieed'. But, as they grew older, ('lo Inau'rd, while Ralph tried to stay boyish aria Irkl.v, "\Vhy not act your age?" elle .often asked, wistfully. "We have tech a lovely comfortabie hone for middle-aged folks. Our department store le dignified enough for older nmeagement, Yon don't have to keep hp a front." Ralp'n would chuckle. "Not jeal- ous of your old man, are you, baby? No loclin', I don't show the years a bit, do T?" "la's not honest,". Flo contended. "Everyone recognizes middle age wheat he. sees it. Anyone ran re- oogm .,• a toupee." But 1310.' knew when to Bush. They mustn't quarrel. over trifles. Of course, she didn't think this grow- ing breach in their ages was a trifle, but Ralph did. F,very clay she felt more. strongly that somethingmust be done to preserve their marriage; and every day she could think of no possible solation. t)ni inoreing she sail, "T—I dou't feel like going In the 'store, dear. • I'm sere Miss Garay can rltanag., alone. There is ho,secleauning end things to do herr." "Okay, dear," Ralph agreed scattily, kissing her goodbye. Fear stabbed Flo. Why did he agree so diesrily? Why didn't he ask her what was wrong? She had an impulse to' change her mind and go. But tears and self-pity were aching -in her eyes and throat. To conceal her feelings, she said briskly, "Wear this old hat, clear. I want to send that one to the cleaner's." "But it's so shabby and it doesn't fit well." , Stubbornly Flo held out the old straw hot iunil he closeted it reluc- fantty, leaving his soft gray felt on a chair. She refused -to watch hint swagger off, whistling like their son Danny when he was 0 college freshman; Tears hhireed her vision while she picked up things and cleaned and swept. Wasn't there something "Funniest thing happened," Ralph said. "when 1 took oft any Inst my toupee came off,. too." that would save their marriage, something like taking reducing ex- exercises, or turning kittenish? Ran Seventeen Years Still Going Strong "f d d relict ph 1 r 1phic x11141 111-1 ,of all old play straight out 11 h1 awe, 1µ1l LID a t tr n •edy aa'Il,rs aosione Mr a. month's work, lay In ,t ropws supply of bier , --and the answer In $3,U00,000. Way back hr 11120, a young pr0- dncer nauted Galt Bell \vas staying with his grandmother in Berkeley, l;alileriie, when the old lady ask- ed hint to bring down a trunk stored m the attie and promised 10 show bins some old-faobione,1 cootttnes. e Ilid:len aurid the Ilnnnees and lace was the yellowed script of .t play first produced by ,hnwneta P. 1'. Barnum, "The llrm1L.,r,1." or ':the Felice Saved." Grannie ream it 111111 r"med with laughter, Gait lead it and doubled up. Vowing to produce it, Ile took seven year, to raise the money. Yet today "'Phe Drunkard" his broetel the world record for Il111 longest run ever known. Balt convened an old photo studio Into 0 makeshift theatre and produced the play in 1'1,33, 1 fere we are fn 1951 and it has aellieved 7,000 performances. That's three times longer than the London run of "Chu Chin Chow" or double the Broadway record of "'I'ohacco Road." In seveuteeat years over 2,500,000 people have seen the show and paid more than $3,000,000 into the box- office. Pre-war actors left the cast, fought in France, and returned to their ohs parts when the war was over. Twenty marriages have taken place het ween east and house stall and the show has reared a healthy crop of infanta. One of the first, now a sixteen -year-old in,,, will soon have a per,! Boris Zarb 1f has seen the show forty times. Lilly Burke, Edward Arnold and Iruie Denim tee dozen - visit devotees, Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, Dick Pow.]} and Ginger Rogers are all regulars. Maybe the secret is beer. \Vhen he revived the old melodrama, Galt Bell decided to pad out the evening with old -tine music hall atmo- sphere. Free beer and Rant sand- wiches are included in the price of admission. :V e,gclhcr,. sixty ions of sandwiches have been Munched and 4,000,000 battles of beer con- sumed. In addition, thousands of candle -lit birthday celiee 11ve been awarded to people eelebrainng birth- day's or wedding 000o',eserieo. -.\t first, the wa]. resses and stage- hands gave the music -hall turns. Since then nearly every ,tar and famous visitor in Ilolly'.rood has obliged, from Lily Pons to Mae West. In the world's most actor - populated town, "The Drunkard" can boast the world's greatest star- ring cast. Yet fete of the authentic cast of the play have gone into the movies and none has found subse- quent fame. After seventeen years the play is staged seriously and every tempta- tion to gag is resisted. One patron always stood up during Act 'Poo to deliver a lecture on the perils of strong drink. After being escorted out seven times, he complained he • did not know how the plot turns out. When the hero spurns the villain's bribe, the cheers from -the audience crack the ceiling. In actual fact, it has been replastered five times. Continual enthellishtnents have made the theatre one of the most lnauriolls in America. Says puzzled Galt Bell: "It isn't good drama. It has not intentionally funny lines. There isn't a speck of dirt in it, T. don't know why 'The Drunkard' goes of and on." Perhaps it's just another of those things' that could only happen in Hollywood I The idea Was revolting. She had no heart to compete with their three young daughters. 1i—if she Ilanjust begun years ago trying to 0etmlitl 'glamorous instead of Miming into a mother, maybe things world have worked out better. 13p noon, she felt less frustrated, Slt • even hummed while elle whip- ped alp Ralph's favourite cake and cooked pot -roast. If she had an especially appetizing supper, and the children were in jubilant stood, maybe Ralph would see hove well off he was. Maybe, just once, he would forget his diet. At 5:05 the childern called saying they had to stay for play practice. Flu's spirits drooped, Would Ralph call, too, pretending that business detained him, leaving her alone in the dark, silent hoose? She waited with apprehension, At 6:15 sharp she heard the car stop, then Ralph's step on the porch! "Sapper ready, Mom?" he called. Dread gripped Pio. He'd called her mon instead of baby, or dears Just one day's staying home .made her seem. old-fashionedto hint! He strode into the living -roost. , "Mont, you're looking at a suc- cessful mint Tdday 1 lauded that fat Atkinson account, Mr. Kimley, their new buyer, said I looked like a settled, respectable business man." He chuckled at Tlo's astonished face. "Funniest thing happened. Remember stow tight that old straw, hat was? Well, the minute I took. it off in front of that Hippy 'Miss Gray and the officeforce, they all started giggling, My toupee came off too, so L glared—like I meant to look fifty, instead of thirty. It's a wonderful feeling of relief. What's for supper, Mom?" "Pot -roast and your favorite cake, Datil" As they parched in to supper, arm in arm, lllo just knew that there never had been welt a ively bald head es her husband'e.5 Scented Soap ean serve as a sachet Perfumed Cotton Pads Are Practical' and Also conornkcol ZIY MYNA MILE$ 'N THESE days of rising costs, it's a wise woman who uses a few tricks for extracting double duty from the small Iuxuries that adcl to the graciousness of living. If your pet extravagance is soap perfumed with your favorite scent, try this tip for prolonging your enjoyment of the fragrance, Instead of stowing it away on your household supplies shelf, put it in with yotfr lingerie or linens—just as you would a fine sachet. You'll find the effect is similar—a delightful whiff when you open your drawer or closet door. A similar plan may be carried out with cotton pads, which many women tuck, after perfuming them, into pockets or cuffs in pref- erence to scenting their skin. Instead of simply tossing,these pads out after use, try tucking them in with your undies. Or else tie a cluster of them on ribbons and hang them on 'the hanger with your favorite dress, This idea may be extended to your kitchen, too. Instead of allowing your fruits to lie until used in' brown paper bags in your kitchen cabinet, try arranging them in your most attractive bowl and using them as a centerpiece for your table. Vegetables, too,. can be used for colorful decorative effects— particularly such vividly -hued ones as eggplants. Rollywood star Ruth Roman tucks a Cake of perfumed soap in with her lingerie in order to enjoy its fragrance' each time she opens the drawer. Bing Crosbj-Twenty Years On Top Rues fife Like A Big Business By ERS1CINt, JO:INTON • 1101.L\' WOO I).—"I'he man in the tum slouch hat, vivid green slacks and yellow sport shirt ram- pant with reel hibiscus Gowers stood squinting into the sun beside a small while ball on tate fifth fair- way of the Rd Air Country Club. 1t was an easy 140 -yard shot to the green, unobstructed and dead ahead. But it \0110 almost a full min- ute before Bing Crosby addressed the hail and sent it screaming to within 18 inches of the cup. He carefully sludieil the lie of the ball, tossed a leaf into the air to determine 1110 force of the after- noon breeze, .quin10ib at the roll of the green, took two practice swings, squint cd again, rcjudged the distance.- ' :\ championship match for a silver-plated trophy? No, just a Sunday game with the boys for 50 cents a hole. 1 m But that Minute of cool calcula- tion and planning is one of the an - severs, perhaps the 01051 important, to the question of why, after 20 years, 47 -year-old Bing Crosby is still the world's Gralld Than of Crooners. It Is why lie is ,always one of Hollywood's tap ten money- making stars, Mr. Music—live, transcribed or on shellac --and a modern :Nix. Midas. On the golf conr5e or anywhere else, Bing Crosby never makes a snap decision. He studies every move he makes like a golf shot. He has the iron nerves, steadiness and icy temperament of Ben Hogan and the shrewd business brain of an industrial tycoon. The Crosby. empire: has a big organization -- brothers, lawyers, writers, tax experts—but even they admit, "Bing is .the orgitnization." Yet, to the world Bing Crosby Well I{sown To The Sporting Fraternity Of Ontario, Joe Crysdale, one of the toasters of ceremonies at the Canadian National Sportsmen's Show in the Coliseum, .from March 9 to 17, interviews Sharkey, the trained seal Shari'ey is the star performer of -the stage and water tcvue'which will be held in the Arena of the C'ollsettin twice daily during this big spring- . time exhibition. is a c:. reirec, lazy, wicelering ern steel who is always eek,xed, always casual, nonchalant, Ulu Master of savoir-faire and boodle -dee -boos and a Hollywood -to -New York, if nor 411 international loon vivant. The Bing Crosby of the level (lead and calculating mind isn't the same Bing Crosby who fell uphill to national fame as one of Paul Whiteulan's 1828-29 Rhythm Bays picture of a carefree minstrel with a shrewd brain, There's the voice, which started it all in the first place. Crosby's soothing baritone, vari- ously described as broken toned, a groan and a moan, has outlasted his hairline, half a hundred MON ie ,luec110 1.1 0011010 he has warbled in 43 movies and five sets of Para- mount studio executives since bobby soxers first swooned over "When The Blue of The Night Mc'cts the Gol,1 of The 'Day" in 1931. 4 * V: .,s one of Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, Bing was a "hot" scat singer'. "1 Surrender Dear," the 1931 hit, established him as a crooner, or, Performer — The "biggest hit radio could remember" shoves how be got that way—and stayed there.—during a broadcast in 10.ki with Claudette Colbert and a 000015er named Frank ' Sinatra. and by his singing of "I Surrender Dear' with Gus .A.rnheiln's orches- tra at the Los Angeles Cocoanut Grove. Twenty-seven-)ear•old 13 f n g Crosby was 0 playboy having such good times that he missed shotes because of long weekends at Agua Caliente and Paint Springs, Ile was broke so often that he sold "pieces" of himself to 0. score of agents; it Iater cost him 535,000 to untangle this octopus grip on his career. And he had to beg for a two-day "leave of absence" to sing with the Rhythm Soy.; in \Vhitemani s movie, '"Flue Mug of Jazz," be- cause of a .30 -day leo: Angeles jail. sentence following a "mellow mo- ment" antonlohite accident. , Bing, in fact, was both broke and. jobless when he married movie starlet Dixie Lee in 1930 against the advice of Dixie's boss, Pro- ducer Sol \Vurtzel, who warned her: "Dixie, if you marry this Crosby character you'll have to support hint for the rest of your life." * a .n It was Dixie, Bing says, who stopped him from. being a playboy and shoved stint into success. Three other women—his mother, Irate Crosby, singer Mildred Bailey and Elsie Janis—also were convinced he had a great future and constantly lectured hint about throwing his life away. . As Bing remembers: "They tin ally showed me the light. Un until then T was a fat headers guy." The Bing Crosby keening -at -the - top formula is 111000 titan just the as he calls himself, "a groaner." Now he sings evefything from "Adeste Fideles" to "Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy.' The secret of his magnificent dic- tion and carefree phrasing goes hack to his only training in voice —as a choirboy in the Catholic Responses and' as a perennial high school and college elocution contest winner. Discount Crosby's choice of songs as a success reason. He long ago stopped picking There, Ile says: "I. can't spot a ]tit. T just .sing 'ens." Bing handles his filen career, which won hint a 1944 Academy Award Oscar for "Go'ug My Way'," as he judges the pitch of a golf green. The fornnnla is simple: He plays a happy-go-lucky, casual himself in different costumes — "I wasn't Crosby in only one picture, 'Going My Way,' " he says—sties rounds himself with important co- sters, keeps everything in good family taste, plays every 500110 With an almost deepen, \whams y ease and lets the dialogue, and the gags fall where they may. His biggest thrill in 20 years of entertaining? Singing to GIs near Metz during the war when U.S. artillery shells were whizzing over his head, getting his first job with Paul Whiteman, accepting an Academy Oscar. His favourite all Cote songs: .- "Home on the Range," "While Christmas" and "Dinah." NEXT WBBle Cracking the Big Time. Window Saye With Automatic Watering V\ (tering house plants ltas always been something of a problem. Often they tither get too much moisture or too little. Now we have a self - watering plant box, which can be constructed at home and prevents these common errors of judgment. ,The box may be any size that is needed to fit the space for which it is planned. In order to make it watertight, the inside must be coat- ed oated with asphalt paint. A metal tube or pipe is se perbendicularly at one end, and water is added through it, A false, bottom, about an inch above the bottom of the box, makes a reservoir. Holes about a half incl( in diameter are drilled in the bot- tom of the box, approximately eight to ten inches apart along the centre line. Wicks are inserted in these holes and moisture is drawn up through them. Horne -Made Wicks The wicks may be made from strips of burlap, rolled up to about the size of a cigar, or from glass - wick which is sold in garden sup- ply stores. A layer of sand, about an inch deep, is placed on the false bottom, and soil is then added to about an inch from the top of the box, The result is an even distribu- tion of moisture, which may be con- trolled as desired. This system of automatic water- ing is especially good for plants like African violets, which are harmed if moisture reaches their foliage. \Vhat is more, too much hand watering causes "waterlog- ging," which excludes necessary air front the plant roots. Because plants consume moisture at different rates, smaller wicks may be used, or their lengths increased so as to reduce slightly the rate of absol7ni,ul. Most Useless Game In All The World '1111!', how They ester .to patience; 11,:!'., ,;ilti1C. Tbc re ie no patience 011atnpion- '1,1(1, n 9rdh age ,'up 'for getting ,1111 -.Iwo in at hfi•.time" twice 01114 re,, mi publicity attached 10 def01t- 3313 11. 1)0111,10 )looi'al, 110 30011ey bj be 11111e nun of it. let despite its 11,i lessness, or perluttis because of it, there are mil- lions of patience players. They in - elude tins fam,.us and the infalnons patnnc is among the officially approved paainlc' in ,he death cell. • once the patience bug has bitten a 1101, it is 11111),•( as difficult for hint to get rid of 11 a- it is ,lo stop see psi: mg. Somerset \Iangha n sit' 0 in "The Gentleman in the Parlour" that con- sidering the shortness of life and iulieile number • of important thing, there arc to do, playing pa- tience is (11 .3 of a flippant dis- position. Tint although he 00) 1„aceecf him- self, be got out the ear,is. Ile knew seveul,•1•n rarities of patience, and 9005 trapped by the taulclee1 web of that known 11, "The Spider."• An ardent player once decided to "collect" all tine known games of patience. He listed 7,400 different games and then gave no. rhe only thing ell patience games have in common is that they are played alone, hence the American and Canadian name of "Solitaire' for the pastime. I3ut, as every player knows, the only way to play alone is to lock yourself up in a room. The desire tit onlookers to give advice to a patience player is,so irresistible that soon the player rinds he is becom- ing a mere dealer of cards for other people. The skill required in patieure varies according to the game play- ed. 1 don't know any patience game of pure skill. 1 probably should not play- it if T did, for the element of Melt is part of the fascination. The skilled player learns to allow for the unpredictable rather than stick to a preconceived. plan which ilei been made useless by, the way alt cards fall. One we11- known politician does jigsaw 1111zz1311 as a relaxation, no doubt because jig -sates appeal to those people with logical minde who believe everything can be planned and will fall neatly into place. Patience players prefer a pastime which takes 00001(nt of luck. learn- ing to make the best of good ludo and to minimise the effect of had luck. Nowadays patience is not so widely played. As a method of soothing the nerves and taking the mind off work and worries, it has to compete with ratlin and movies. But of all leisure occupations it must be the cheapest and most harmless. No juvenile delinquent ever pleads that he 1005 led astray by playing pati3ncc. Even knitting which provides oc- cupation for the hands while sooth- ing the mind has figured in criminal history. If the women of Revolutionary France had only been patience play- ers instead of knitters. the revolu- tion might have been less brutal, since they would have had to keep their eyes on the carths instead of watching the guillotine! Cold' Wind Blows Some Good—The bitter, ln'low - : ro . 1•• peratures in l'oorca have played havoc with fighting men 01111 their vehicles, but for these youngsters, King Winter has be011 a Thal. iltti hoary 11000311 'hurled this ponds 11110 an ice rind:, .a signal for children tit improvise ;skate -and -slot c0nthin0111345 atttl take to the ire. Using home-made. ski -poles, the voun"':acts push themselves across he ice, °blit ions to the death stn e- le around them. a JITTER anowonaLannannannaamanint srlp WE'RE• 1N'TNE 6W11CH YARDS AND 11100 coM6SA RAILROAD cOP...,11 W EVERY MAN 510 510A50011..PICIOA GOOD 5907' AND fllpi f -04 ra y Arthur Pointer t1t5N 70 NOG IN A cAHAAA or 6R 1.1o1.SSsas.. Qum YDHR ('11t810' OR wE MI500 0VRN NA011 --- :xa-�"•--t. $BATH! 111 116'5 GONE BUT AS 560N A6 WE, 11' GET THD CHIMP Our of *Nis TANk CAN, WE'D 001r0R SeRAM!