Under Currents

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17554, 8 November 1928, Page 6

Under Currents

IN THE DRIFT OF LIFE

(By "Seeker.")

FIREWORKS: AN OPPORTUNITY. When the Are brigade was called out several times oh Guy Fawkes' night and some children were complaining that they hadn't as big a bonfire"'or as many rockets as their neighbours, the thought came: Would it not be much better next year to organise a community bonfire with a displav of really fine fireworks? Charge for admission what the average familv pays, and the total would be enouch for a splendid show, ten times fine as the most pampered child now enjoys. And, with luck, a considerable surplus should remain for some good cause. There might well be in addition to a great bonfire, some small fires or firebrands at which children could light their crackers and small fireworks; for no child wants to be a mere passive spectator But the whole festival, if well managed, should be entirely free of the risks that are now incurred. Te \roha has taken a lead in turning the disorganised and dangerous Guy Fawkes" night into a carnival for a good cause. Hamilton's Children's Camp League or Sunshine League or Cheer Germ Club, or some of our many good organisations, will surely seiza the chance in future years. * * » • WOMEN AND MASCULINITY. "Are men so admirable, so altogether perfect, that girls feel compelled to yieid them the last compliment of the surrender involved by imitation? Has the feminine itself not a value at the very least equal to anything offered by the all-admired male side of life? "In truth, the modern girl is the victim of an inferiority complex. Tell the average high school girl that she is as hardy as a boy, and she will feel profoundlv flattered. Let her know that you think her feminine and she will probably never speak to you again. What a victory for the male, thus to have conquered the soul of the young woman of to-day." —Meyrick Booth ("Centre Broadsheet"). * * * * Commenting on these opinions, my friend Calypso remarks: "A manly point of view, to be sure! Mr Meyrick Booth would seem to be suffering, not from blindness, like Samson —he blamed a woman —but from the peculiarly restricted vision of the oneeyed. Because girls have found that short hair and skirts add to their enjoyment of life; because they prefer tennis and golf to needlework and have discarded the clothes of the needleworker for ones more suitable for' sports; because, moreover, they find an occasional cigarette as good for them as for their Drothers, they are 'yielding their last compliment of surrender' and suffering from an inferiority complex! Well—that same Inferiority complex is not going to lead women to adopt stiff collars, hard hats, sombre suits, heavy, ungainly boots, and other absurdities of the victorious male's attire. "We often hear of the early Victorian as an interesting survival of bygone days, whose chief characteristic is unqualified disapproval of all thincs modern. There are many early Victorians among us. They are all men."

"Ah—men!" is the fitting response. Calypso might further have pointed out how man flatters woman by obsequious imitation: Now, tell me, Mr Mcyrick Booth, Does imitation mean surrender? Does smoking—even though it soothe A woman —change her tender gender? Then Is not man an abject slave Who crops his beard and will not risk a Moustache, but strives each morn to shave Away each trace of virile whisker? He emulates his sister's smooth And comely cheek (though his bo beerier), Why is it, Mr Meyrick Booth, /He has a "complex" so inferior? < And even beer, which once the male In lordly quaffs with every meal did Imbibe, he now deserts. For ale To woman's lea the field hath yielded. And note his garb: For servile man , Who once wore boots 'for any weather, Now follows fashion's brown and tan And silken sock and patent leather. Effem'nate things! The spell is strong. You'll surely note, when man goes bathing He wears a skirt six inches long (The fair one's mode) his figure swathing. So each the other imitates. And why is woman called "inferior"? =ince each so high the other rates ' it's clear that both are quite superior. HINTS FOR LARGE LADIES. As buxom figures are out of fashion among the ladies, many will welcome the discovery of a new method of reducing. A candidate for Parliament addressed, me: "Would you believe it —l've lost nine pounds since I entered this campaign. With this knowledge large ladies in large numbers should be standing lor the next election. « «. S 6 MORE THAN A POUND OF FLESH. To reduce weight by talking should be more pleasant than the method adopted by a film actress at Hollywood. Her efforts to improve her figure by dieting and exercise were not successful. So, fearing the loss of important engagements, she underwent a fatreducing operation. The surgeons removed fatty tissue by four lacerations, and, at latest reports, she was well.' H can only be suggested that the producers of Hollywood missed a great opportunity for a new thriller—Ihey ought to have -shot" a revised version of "The Merchant of Venice in which Shylock really did exact his pound of flesh, and let this courageous voimg lady play the part of Ancon.o. 11 sounds, however, as though a good deal more than a pound must have been extracted by the Hollywood Burgeons, who, before they set about cutting down their available material, must have been carefully instructed in how much sub-editing was required. Uter all, there must be different Standards even at Hollywood—the lady destined for an ingenue type would need more hacking about-than a fullsize, semi-Oriental vamp. Perhaps the operators approach their task murmuring gently to themselves, like an old-fashioned carver, "Beef thin but Diuttpu thicks" t