THE PLAIN MAN'S YEAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19214, 31 December 1925, Page 11

THE PLAIN MAN'S YEAR.

ON THE HIGHWAY OF LIFE. RETROSPECT and prospect. LOOKING FOR MILESTONES. bright skies and clouds. And what has it amounted to at all—this year of 1025. The plain man sits and smokes and ruminates. It is not- easy for him to review tho year so far as lie himself is concerned. It has been a piece of/time —but more than a fragment, a jeventieth part of the average life, a fiftieth of the average span of adult years, a twentieth and no more, of tho average span that, is called the prime of life. A twentieth! Arresting thought! A twentieth of the effectual years of accomplishment of the average life. A very arresting thought and not a cheering one. Of course, there are men who " make hay "—and not merely in the financial sense be it remembered—before they are out of their twenties and others who recover youth in the fifties and romp awav from the field, to use a current sporting term. But generally speaking it is what happens between thirty and fifty that really matters in the life of the average man. By fifty as a rule he knows his fate in the material sense and knows his limitations in the more important realms of life. His habits have become fixed, particularly his habits of thought and happy is he who at that age feels that he h'as acquired a philosophy that will carry him on to the end without remorse. Happy also is he who then knows that his old age will not be haunted with the dread of poverty. We proceed too quickly, however. The plain man who sits and smokes and reviews his year is the average man in his prime, the, man in tho critical period of life. He/has something to lose and much to gain. He has ceased to think in terms of the thirties when, of course, the flush of' the twenties was still colouring his sky, and to start to think from the viewpoint, of the forties. His Mental Evolution. Well, what of the year for him ? Public happenings, national events do not matter much as he sits and thinks. It wis different, of course, in the war days when the. forties joined with the twenties to a great extent. He starts first with his own mental evolution. Yes! The year has mattered. He has, or believes he has-, passed a milestone in mental development. He has read more calmly and thought more deeply and has rid himself of a number of prejudices. That is ail to the good. He knows that he is a little less dogmatic, a little- less of a .rebel in many things. A new phase seems to be opening. He begins to understand more clearly the pitfalls of assertive -youth and to appreciate more keenly) the calmer, more philosophic outlook of the mature. And, of course, that' is all tc the good. But then, again, the thought strikes him that he ought not to be satisfied with himself. He has the suspicion of an' idea , that aggressive, impatient, dogmatic youth may have less to condemn than too audi serenity in the forties. He will bear that idea in mind for the new vear. He won t, of course, out let that pass. The thing which people decide to bear in- mind as December is running to its close are legion they are legion every year. Things Material. He fills his pipe again, having quite forgotten a resolution he made ages and ages ago. to stop smoking and save the money. A new line of thought comes into his brain. It is that matter of a farm. No hurry about it, of course, but that old dream of a life in tho open air a life away from cities seems to be getting dimmer. A very hard life and all that, he thinks, but what a change itwould be, what a relief from the daily grind. Abruptly he turns his attention to things very definitely material. He must, because the wherewithal is becoming more and more the crux of things in the life of this plain man. The family will soon be growing up and they must be given a decent start and, above all things, must be given the chance to follow their bent. That's the great thing. He is almost making a mental speech. None of the square-peg-in-the-round-hole business for his children,, They are not to go through the torture of that, as their dad has done. It is so easy to build castles for the children. But about the wherewithal. No! The rear has not helped the bank account very much. There was a lot of spending in the first month of it. Fine weather and outings—must have outings—and the holiday—must give the wife and kiddies a decent holiday if possible—no use saving at the expense of health- And then, just when a few pounds might have been put by, the whole team found they had teeth to be attended to and between school books and the income tax and the rates and new outfits for school and three "insurances," the winter was really on before the level of the bank account could me at all. Paying for the House. There was a little effort in the first months of the winter to be economical and the average saving for two months was' encouraging, but _ then came the chance of making a nice little profit out of those shares. There will be a profit .yet, but somehow the calls eat up the inonev. However, by October it did begin to look as if he could pay .£SO off the | house and bv November it became certain that £25 could be paid anyway. No sooner was this paid than it became quite apparent that if the house could not be painted a couple of rooms must be sappred. The wife's mother was coming to stav in the holidays and things must be mice for her. It was the old argument of every man's wife and our plain man did,succeed in getting the job done, but he heaved a sigh of lelief when it was announced that mother-in-law had changed her mind about coming this Christmas. And here he sits wondering about his prospects I *. The salary envelope is a little thicker, but, from past experience he knows that the annual/'nso" does not fi\v#]l the general fund of the home. A strange thing that, thinks our friend. Banishing the "Blues." Neither he nor his wife give way to extravagance, but there is no more over now • than there was five years ago. It would be a great idea, he imagines, to put the annual "rise" in a separate fund end not touch it during the year. md there, is nothing new, too, about the next thought which cuts deeper than he cares to admit. "I don t seem to have the commercial instinct. Lots oi the chaps have broken away and are doing well. Making profits for themselves and not for the man who pays the salary. I Wonder —" , While, he is wondering three bright chilch'en in their "nighties" come in and fclamber up to be kissed good-night. Their dear soft little hands and lips banish tho "blues" that are about to rise up and fir end him. Their chatter touches his fioul. "And as they toddle off to be "tucked in," our plain man smiles and ■fills his pipe again. And at the other end of the house mother is singing «, lullaby.