People talked about – Active Americans and the legitimate son

Active Americans

Being active marks the difference between having a wistful yen to do a certain thing and having a burning desire to accomplish it at any cost. The desire itself resembles warm water in a boiler; it doesn’t produce any steam. There has to be fire and force before the water will come to an active boil.

None of us is responsible for all the things that happen to us, but each of us is responsible for the way we respond to what does happen. It is characteristic of the active drive that most Americans enjoy, that they believe many things come fastest to him who won’t wait. This trait of activity sets them apart from most other people.

Bastard

One of the most talked about but least seen people, is the bastard. He has been variously defined. Mr. Webster says he’s “a natural child begotten and born out of wedlock.” To my cussin’ cousin he’s anybody who doesn’t agree with him; and to the County Clerk in Izzard County, Arkansas, he was the local Justice of the Peace.
Not long ago a couple from the hills came to this J.P. and said that now that their son was old enough to start school, they thought maybe they’d better get married. The Justice agreed, and asked for their license. When they handed it to him, he looked it over carefully and told them: “This is all in order except it doesn’t give the age of the bride; I know you’re old enough, Ma’am, but this license has got to show that you’re of marrying age. I could insert your age for you, but it wouldn’t be legal to do it that way.”

So, the couple returned to the Clerk who obligingly inserted the proper figure, and the pair went back to the J.P. He scanned the document a second time and shook his head: “That’s what I was afraid of; he inserted your age in a document that had already been sworn to; he should have issued a new license with your age appearing on it, and then had that new one sworn to. You’ll have to go back again.”

So the couple repaired to the clerk a second time and he grumblingly filled out the new form and affixed his seal. With that, the pair went again to the J.P., and after he’d checked the paper, he performed the ceremony. “Now,” said the happy wife, “our son is legitimate.” At that the J.P. explained to the couple that a marriage is not retroactive, and so the boy was still a technical bastard. “He is?” questioned the surprised wife. “Why . . . that’s what the clerk said you was!”

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