Brother, it was a cinch

"Mary, take a help-wanted ad, will you?" Minify picked up the small pad, read what he'd written, then ignored it. "Upper case, 'EXPERT SECRETARY,' and a couple lines white space. Then, lower case, 'for editorial department, national magazine, exacting work, good pay.' Then single line white space. Then, 'Religion is a matter of indifference in this office. Write full experience to Box ----' Got that, Mary?"

For the first time since he'd met her, Phil saw expression appear in her prim face. She likes this, he thought, and was surprised to find within himself an odd sense of occasion. "Better state the salary, Mr. Minify," Mary said matter-of-factly, "instead of just 'good pay.'"

"O.K. O.K. You fix it. Times, Trib?" ...
...

"In any other ads you run, use that line, please." Vigorously he turned to Phil. "High time heads of firms took public positions on it."

Minify watched her decorous progress across the office and through the door. Then, as if the episode had sped up his metabolism, he embarked at once on a spirited harangue with invisible opponents. Once Phil thought, He isn't as calm and journalistic about it all as he was a few weeks ago, and instantly added, Lord, neither am I. Minify was half shouting at him now. "--the sloppy, slovenly notion that everybody's busy with bigger things. There just isn't anything bigger, as an issue, than beating down the complacence of essentially decent people about prejudice. Not what Stalin's up to, not the bomb or the peace. Because if hatred and bigotry just go on rotting the basis of this damn country" -- he glared at Phil -- "all the rest is pious hypocrisy."

[from Chapter Eight, Gentleman's

Agreement, by Laura Z. Hobson.

1947. Simon and Schuster,

New York.]

------------------------------------------

Since I have the movie and have watched parts of it, when I saw the book on a friend's bookshelf Saturday, I accepted her offer to loan it to me -- read it this weekend.

A compelling novel, it came out 1947, aftermath WW II -- my friend read it that year. The book contributed to the national conversation and helped people think in different ways about things.

They had different slang expressions back then -- I loved it when I came to the part where the main character has figured out an angle for his magazine series -- in the excitement and investment of planning, he thinks, "Brother, it was a cinch."

Indeed.

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