We all remember the line--“If wishes were fishes we’d have some fried.” That is the answer to those who rock and dream, and hope for something to _turn up_ instead of _turning up_ something on their own account. Of course, there is a time for everything, even the stealthy, creeping rocking chair--and that’s about bedtime. In the estimation of an eminent neurologist there is no crime against nature in the home that cannot be traced to this monstrous thief of time, which, while apparently screeching and groaning under its load, is, in reality, shouting with joy at the job it is putting up on its occupant. _Taking the most out of life_ is the proper label for this old squeaker--breeder of idle contentment, day-dreams, inertia. Like everything else that saps the energy from mind and body, it counts its victims by the score, and throws them up on the sands of time. [Illustration: ----and his brother John] Speaking of sand may serve to remind the reader of a well-known poem handed down from Grandmother days, which holds a lot of precious wisdom--probably more than any poem of its length--its breadth and depth being equal to the world in which we live. In childhood days this poem took my fancy, being short, to the point, and easy to remember. I was ready to recite it immediately and _automatically_ upon request. I had no thought then as to its meaning, but as the years rolled by it tagged along in memory until now I find in it a sort of statement of fact upon which to build my theory of making life worth while. Here it is: _Little drops of water, Little grains of sand, Maketh the mighty ocean And a pleasant land._ To those who adopt the idea of finding out just _why_ little drops of water and little grains of sand accomplish so much, will come the greatest reward in the way of mental satisfaction--and, meanwhile, they’ll keep busy. There is unbounded happiness in the pursuit of knowledge; a wonderful satisfaction in building up one’s treasure house of information. It’s all so easy, requiring nothing more than a healthy, enquiring mind--and _a zest for the sport_. Zest is a big word. It has to do with _get up and git_, which has been most appropriately boiled down into the word _pep_. Lazy people, mentally or bodily, seldom get anywhere. What they do get is either accidental or by _absorption_--if by the latter process, more likely through the pores than the brain. No use to talk to them about making life worth while. [Illustration: Teaching his dog to smile]