, it is
men who call other men "cattle." At any rate, I like to think that no
woman would ever see men as less than the sons of mothers.
The Port o' Missing Men is like the Port of San Francisco, and these men
are like boats in from a foreign port, tramp steamers some of them, out
of nowhere, going nowhere, no baggage, no traditions, men who'll never
get lost because they are on their way to Nowhere.
Yet, the majority of these men are going to some place, but where I do
not know. What do they talk about in groups down there, tall, young
fellows and strong middle-aged men and reminiscent, old ones down in the
Port o' Missing Men? If they're out of work where do they sleep at
night, and what do they have to eat? And have they any women folks?
Not all kinds of men are down there, but many kinds. There are Mexicans,
Sinn Feiners, old American stock, and once in awhile a venturesome
Yankee. There are lumberjacks in from the North, and Chinamen in
shuffling slippers, and philosophers and Swedes, half-breeds and just
plain men. Some are Vagabonds who can't help their roving, and others
are very tired and would like to lie over in port for or a long spell.
There are Italians, and Portuguese, and many Greeks, and turbaned
Hindus, tall and skinny, always traveling in pairs like nuns. Sometimes
the Port is fairly crowded.
New England is a section of the country where men leave home, and I have
heard mothers sing with tears in their voices: "Oh, where is my
wandering boy tonight?" On Third street down at the Port o' Missing Men,
I have a fancy that I would like to write back to all those mothers that
here are their boys. But, after all, what good would that do, for who
can tell which is which?
Market St. Scintillations
Oh, the things our eyes discover as we walk along on Market street. Such
a medley--infinite, incongruous, comical, pathetic, motley and sublime.
Harding in a window with "pure buttermilk." He'll be in more difficult
situations before he is done, I'm thinking. An electric fan above him
that keeps the buttermilk "pure" and flies the American flag in crepe
paper.
"Crabs to take home." They are freshly cooked, very large and forty
cents apiece. I decide that some I shall really buy one and take it home
when I confronted with the fact that "All Hair Goods Must Be Sold." Why,
I wonder. Why must they be sold? And here are "Eggs any style," so close
to the hair goods that I immediately visualize them
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