Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 33 text:

f 9 H By JERRY GREFINBERG, A61 The two middle-aged business men were seated in their car on the deserted high- way. discussing the affairs of their day at the office. NI was worrying a little about my Consolidated Oil stock, Archibald Turner was saying importantly, until I got news of the discovery of that new gusher in Texas. When I . . .H William Arkwright looked expectantly up at his companion, and found him staring into the nearby field with an incredulous look in his widened eyes. '6Bill, he said hoarsely, as if he were afraid of what he was about to say, Look out there and tell me what you see. And with a wavering finger he pointed toward the grassy meadow. Puzzled, Arkwright strained his eyes in the gathering dusk, but could distinguish nothing extraordinary after peering around for a half-minute or so. He was about to turn back to his friend with a laugh, when he caught sight of something that made his skin creep. Great Scott! he exclaimed in wonder. Midgets! And sure enough, onto the white concrete marched a batallion of tiny, uniformed men scarcely a foot high, marching in perfect formation and carrying strange-looking transparent cylinders. Both men sat open-mouthed in astonishment as several of the miniature oflicers pointed their cylinders at the car and then led their company majestically down the highway. At last Archibald Turner recovered enough to seize the wheel and step hurriedly on the starter, mutterin Let's get out of here before the pink elephants come. But as he put is foot on the accelerator, the motor coughed and died. Strange.7' he said wonderingly. uThat never happened before. And he jammed the starter down forcefully. The car gave a groan, three squeaks, and a crash, and g: '73 h two bewildered men found themselves sitting on an upholstered front seat, staring perplexedly around them at the heap of junk which had been, up to a few seconds ago, a luxurious sedan. 'W 'X' 'll' Patrolman Donahue was cursing again. Of course, being stationed at the busiest intersection of the city was a good excuse for his giving vent to his feelings fre- quently, but this time he was boiling. If another one of those - - women drivers is trying to make a U turn in the middle of the blockf' he ranted as he ran toward the tangle of traffic which was the cause of his wrath, so help me, I ain't responsible for my actions. But suddenly he stopped short and stared. Holy catsli' he breathed unbelievingly. For marching unconcernedly from between two taxicabs came a company of minia- ture soldiers less than twelve inches tall in perfect step, casting about them in every 29

Page 32 text:

73 By GEORGE KIRCH. D62 What a delightful cache of miscellaneous possessions are to be found in bureau drawers. Many years ago, I presume, bureau drawers were designed with the express purpose of keeping together a person's haberdashery and clothing. Unfortunately in the course of time fespecially in the case of some small misguided soulsj the bureau drawer has become a first class depository for all kinds of articles, large and small, which eventually displace the articles for which the drawer was originally intended. In the course of my life, I make bold to boast, no drawer of any description has seen as varied or abundant a stream of things as has my bureau drawer. When I was very small, pennies and nickels which were given to me had a way of finding their way into my drawer. These would accumulate over a period of time until I would have a small fortune. But. once in a while the wealth I had saved like a little, hard-working squirrel, would disappear. Imagine the tears-the consterna- tion. Then my mother would appear and, after a few minutes' search in my drawer, the lost would be found. To this very day the situation remains the same, only now I have graduated to the class of quarters and half-dollars. To a youthful idealist, his bureau drawer is his sacred Sanctum. The disordered mixture of clothing and more substantial materials may not look like much, but many a time it is the hiding place for deep dark secrets. Books and jackknives bought without parental approval are slipped between undershirts. Poor report cards rest among the pajamas. In spite of the seeming disorder, a violation of sanctity will be noticed immediately by the indignant victim. Getting back to the original function of bureau drawers, I can sympathize with the hardvworking mothers who shy away from putting clean pressed shirts into a mael- strom such as the ordinary drawer presents upon opening. I canit tell you how a mother feels when she finds her little tyrant's pet turtle crawling around in his clean linen, but I imagine she probably considers anything from forceful objection to capital punishment. When a boy reaches adolescence his drawer still maintains its function as a hiding place, but the character of the hidden changes. Perhaps it's a picture of a movie actress or a girl he admires. Perhaps it's a letter-a very treasured letter. At any rate, he is no longer afraid of punishment, but of embarrassment. When his mother rearranges his drawer for him, the reactions are liable to be explosive, but his face will surely be red. And so, man goes on through life, and when he needs a vault in which to secrete personal foolishnesses, he turns to his bureau drawer. Yes, they're a great institution, bureau drawers, only I donit see why they have to put so much clothing in them. 28

Page 34 text:

direction with tiny. transparent cylinders. However. l'atrolman Donahue had little time for thought. because at that moment buildings began crashing down on all sides. Professor Huxley of the University was speaking before the city council. . . and from this it can be seen that they are not essentially dangerous. although their origin is a complete mystery. Their ray-guns merely increase the fatigue of metals. causing an effect similar to that of centuries ol' time. Although these rays apparently have no elfect on the human body or brain. they are undoubtedly a nuisance. and l heartily recommend the extermination of this impossible race of fantastic midgetslu A buzz of excited talk swept through the hall as he sat down mopping his fore- head. but died down as the mayor held up his hand for attention. After discussing the question with my colleagues. he said. I have decided to adopt Professor Huxley's suggestion. Since it would be highly impractical to have these tiny creatures hunted out and shot by the police because of their size and their metal-destroying ray. we believe it is best that the civilian population dispose of the matter by the judicious use of baseball bats and similar paraphernalia. Meeting adjournedf, The news spread quickly, and the streets were soon filled with eager boys and men armed with poles, two-by-fours. baseball bats. and the like. and even some women were present with their traditional brooms. Silas Jones, one of the more zealous of the searchers. finally came upon one of the abbreviated marauders marching calmly along. and with a shout of triumph whirled his bludgeon around his head a few times and struck. Confidently lifting his Louisville Slugger to observe the remains. he was astounded to perceive a tiny soldier still pacing unconcernedly on his way. Again Silas brought down his club. carefully observing the mannikin. and was amazed to see him crushed like a rubber ball. and then. with incredible resiliency, spring up again and patiently continue toward his destination. Completely mystilied. Silas watched him go. unconsciously scratching his head. And the little men marched on. AND Tru: MEEK SHALL lm-uann' A THE EARTH-M 30