Duke University - Chanticleer Yearbook (Durham, NC)

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L Handle with Carb VALUABLE CARCO THCNKXT NCAA CHAMPS! M fresh meaning to that word. Joy, feeling intense to the point of hurt; again he wanted to cry, not what he had done, but what he felt. This year so swiftly passed, huge blocks torn away before he had accomplished half of what he ' d planned. September merged with May, and the final lap a summer away. Eager squirrels ' feet gathering brown acorns hidden in piles of crisp bright leaves. Warm au- tumn — the last, in these the col- lege years. Old stream, older now filled with nostalgic memory of past faces and forgotten moods. Threadbare pattern, relieved only by the blue-white clash of uni- forms or frantic preparations for the outside world. Pinnacle of this phantom community; above all judging, comparing like the towers of stone. Some ready to leave the wall behind, to find new patterns, unfamiliar faces, hard reality. Others bewildered, apprehensive — no plan, waiting, indecision, futile dreams. And still others, unwilling to leave the protecting shadow of these calm buildings to begin another quest for deeper knowledge of them- selves and of their chosen work. He stood and watched the shifting images of four years, the changing stream, his own self-change. More red brick now, not con- fined to East. It swelled from red clay banks marred by bulldozers 24

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and w arching — new faces, strange and young; remembered smiles no longer part of the rushing crov d. He had a past, a present, and a future. Three worlds now, instead of one. Old, old pattern too well-known begun again. Awakening of self to self, to change, transience, basic solidity from deep wells within. Third year of the four — a time of decision, preparation, concrete re- sponsibility and respect. No outer symbols of security; no need for cliches and accepted brands. This, the year of the individual, of idealism as high as the ivied towers and as strong as he who built them. F.lectrie stimulation, pricking lectures, wild urge to know for knowing ' s sake, to swallow every scrap of printed paper, and still to feel how little could be learned. Fields of con- centration, major interests — new scope beyond the ageless walls. New depth to old relationships, recharged, the world waited for his ideas. No faceless stream, but stream of faces, individuals — 23

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and heavy trucks. The laughter oi legal students on soft, spring days no longer drifts toward the main quadrangle — enipt their steps, gone from the old, old walks. No Myrtle, only Campus where it once had stood. Lines ot self-written schedules erased by the coming of automation. Cuts — free at least for this, the last semester. New pools, reflecting wisteria-encrusted arbors; new faces leadine this communitv; new heights of academic glory. Strange, the hushed footsteps of this year; unbearable the crowd- ing memory of past days. Nos- talgia, creeping sickness that left no one untouched. Accomplished record, too late to change its contents. Only the future and the past were his; this, the time of transition, readjustment, final touches to set construction ot self. Then, the long black line. Dark leather of midnight blue, scripture as a guide for future paths, last ad iee, last honors, reading of his name, and then the gate. Final glance towards shady arches and tin window panes. Goodbye, this time for- ever to the stream — a part of him of which he had been part — to the dreams forsaken or ful- filled. Again bright eyes, fastened on the hills beyond. Rough stone that will not mourn his passing, remembered onh ' in the hollows of the worn steps. Kternal — buildings, grass, and trees — but lost the essence of his college years — the faces he had known and loved. 25