Free Homer Price by Robert McCloskey Page A

marvelous!” repliedMiss Enders. “I’ve been thinking of what I could do to show my appreciation for the way the people of Centerburg have received me. Everyone has been so kind, simply marvelous! I’ve just been talking to the Judge, and he has informed me that there is a growing housing shortage, and that people are having difficulty finding places to live. I’ve decided that a nice way of showing my appreciation would be to build a few homes on the family property. They could be replicas of the Enders homestead—a sort of monument—and I could rent them reasonably to deserving families.”
    “Uhm-m-m!” said Uncle Ulysses, stroking his chin. “Good idea, Miss Enders, good idea.”
    Homer agreed, and while he counted out two dozen doughnuts, he thought of the fun there would be, walking rafters and joists in the new houses.
    Uncle Ulysses stopped stroking his chin and said, “I’ll tell you, Miss Enders, it wouldn’t do any harm to have more
modern
houses than the Homestead.”
    “Of course,” said Miss Enders, “modern plumbing.”
    Uncle Ulysses went back to stroking his chin and saying, “Uhm-m-m.”
    “And modern kitchen equipment,” said Miss Enders as though she knew
that
would bring instant approval from Uncle Ulysses.
    “Uhm-m-m,” said Uncle Ulysses, and stroked his chin from left to right.
    Finally he cleared his throat and said, “These are changing times, Miss Enders, and we’re living in an age of ideas and production genius. Now take the way they
used
to make doughnuts for instance—each one cooked by hand, and all that time and bother. Now we have this wonderful machine—makes doughnuts just like that!” said Uncle Ulysses, snapping his fingers. Snap! Snap! Snap!
    “It’s marvelous,” said Miss Enders, “simply marvelous!”
    “Uhm-m-m,” continued Uncle Ulysses. “Now take the matter of houses. The way they
used
to build houses—saw up each board, hammer in nails one at a time, every little shingle and door knob fastened on by hand. But
now,”
said Uncle Ulysses, “with up and coming ideas, and modern production genius houses can be built just like this here machine makes doughnuts—” and he made a broad sweep with his right arm.
    “That’s the principle!” pronounced Uncle Ulysses, while Miss Enders and Homer gazed in wide eyed wonder.
    “That’s the principle that Henry Ford applied to making autos. Yep! Autos are mass produced, like doughnuts; ships are built like doughnuts; airplanes and refrigerators, and now
houses.
Yessiree, the
modern
house ought to be mass produced—just like cars or ships or planes. Yessiree! Mass produced, just like that there machine makes doughnuts!” and here Uncle Ulysses snapped his fingers, snap, snap, snap, snap, and said, “Houses, just like that! . . .” Snap!
    He then stopped waving his arms and talking and appearedstartled that he had talked so much and with such wisdom. He started stroking his chin again, while Miss Enders, quite visibly impressed, was murmuring “Marvelous! Simply marvelous!”
    Homer counted the two dozen doughnuts again.
    “Of course,” said Uncle Ulysses, “it wouldn’t be
quite
as fast or as easy as making doughnuts, but with assembly lines and sub-assembly lines, and power presses and a touch of ingenuity—that’s your recipe. You can bake a house in twenty-four hours flat! . . .” Snap!
    “Build,” corrected Homer.
    “Simply marvelous!” said the receptive Miss Enders.
“Simply marvelous!”
    *    *    *
    Homer had heard Uncle Ulysses’ pet theories before, and the sheriff and the boys over at the barber shop all had heard Uncle Ulysses carry on about the up and coming ideas. In fact arguing about Uncle Ulysses’ pet theories had broken up as many pinochle and checker games as arguing about the World Series and Woman Suffrage put together. That was all that ever happened, though,
arguing.
But that afternoon in the lunch room was different.
    Miss Enders was
receptive
to