From the day
Perspective: The Teenager · Sound
The bally nickelodeon is humming with "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis," but it can barely be heard over the newsies shrieking about the Russians drowning by hundreds in the Yalu as they flee Japanese boats. My pop is scowling at the headline, muttering about how the newspapermen are gagged from reporting the real losses, but I’m just trying to ignore his gloom while the wheels of the new motor carriages rattle my teeth. I’m itching to dodge this blockhead crowd and spend my last copper on a tin of those newfangled teabags I heard the older boys talking about. The street is a cacophony of horseshoes and the hiss of steam, making me feel like the whole world is spinning as fast as an offset printing press.