382
PARTISAN REVIEW
him that he had some excuse or other for not celebrating any of the
holidays in hot weather. He simply could not abide hot weather.
Nothing could stir him to action from Decoration Day till after
Labor Day in September. But after that it was very different. Mother
would say that a week before Thanksgiving
he
began to develop
holiday spirits that were continuous through Easter. Yet she, in turn,
could not abide the cold weather; and
that,
Father maintained, was
responsible for her "scaring up" such a religious point of view about
Christmas and New Year's. Except for the Thanksgiving football
game they would stay home on holidays reading or playing cards
or maybe receiving a few friends or kinspeople. And the next day you
could hear Mother on the telephone telling the woman who took her
orders at the grocery: "We had a very quiet holiday at home, which
is after all a more fitting way to spend such a day.... The children
were in and out with their friends, so it was quite gay for us.... I
think such days, after all, should be a time for the family to be to–
gether. ... Yes, a time for us to count our blessings."
Uncle Jake never failed to comment upon the old-fashionedness
of holidays at our house. When Aunt Grace had once accused Mother
and Father of being together too lazy to face any kind of weather
and had said that each of them was
the
other's worst enemy-socially,
he had come forward most earnestly in their defense. He said that
their mutual sacrifice of practically all
~ocial
life for the sake of the
other's comfort amounted to no less than "a symbol of unity."
"Besides," he said, "it's not as though they were denying them–
selves the sort of social gatherings that there were in-and-around
Nashville a generation ago."
Aunt Grace had expressed her delight at this with several seconds
of laughter so violent that she finally choked. With her face still very
red, her eyes watery, and her voice hoarse she said, "How perfectly
wonderful, Jake!" Then she leaned toward him, narrowing her eyes
till they were two dark slits in her fair complexion, and said, "But
you might
be
surprised, Jake, at what really grand old times some
of the married set do have at their 'social gatherings' today."
Uncle Jake merely nodded soberly.
Aunt Grace laughed again, but carefully now so as not to choke.
"I know what you mean," she added with a wink that had a little
self consciousness about it. "Look at what it 'done done' to me."
Uncle Jake blushed and remained quite serious for a moment.
But he could not long resist the persistent, infectious laughter.
He
smiled genially and softly repeated the phrase which he must have
thought good-"A symbol of unity."
