From The Topeka State Journal, September 24, 1913. By S. E. Kiser.
Things have changed a mighty sight
Since our grandpas went to spark;
There was no electric light
When they wished to keep it dark;
They’d no chance to ever call
Up a girl by telephone;
Had no taxicabs at all,
Cabarets were still unknown;
They were poor and underpaid,
And were plagued by many cares;
How, oh, how did they persuade
Our dear grandmas to be theirs?
When our grandpas were young men
They had little cash to burn;
It was customary then
To save all that one could earn;
They were not inclined to flash
Money where the crowds could see;
They were stingy with their cash
For, in fact, they had to be;
Cocktails gave them no delight,
Life, no doubt, was very tame,
But they seemed to hit it right
With our grandmas, all the same.
When our grandpas loved and sighed
As enchanted lovers will,
They had little cause for pride,
And their tastes were simple still.
They possessed no purring cars
To appeal to women’s hearts;
On their hands they bore the scars
Necessary toil imparts;
Oft I wonder how they won
Our grandmas, poor old chaps.
They appear, though, to have done
Well, despite their handicaps.