Rockland High School - Cauldron Yearbook (Rockland, ME)

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THE CAULDRON 13 A SLIP OF PAPER-THAT'S ALL U My name? IfVhy, you know that we have no--. Oh, back there? That's differ- eut. I was called jimmy Waterman then-just an ordinary, carefree kid like all the rest. Mom spoiled me though, 'cause I was all she had. Dad had died when I was ten. Mom took over the store, and I helped her as soon as I was old enough. Everything was all right until a certain Sunday in December . . . From then on I became restless . . . all the fellows were leaving and everyone was doing all he could to help. I didn't say anything to Mom about it though, because I knew she needed me. But she seemed to sense that something was wrong, and one day she said quietly, jimmy, I know how you feel, and I'm proud of you. If you want to go, I think I can take care of the store by myself. Dad used to, and I know he'd have wanted it this wayf' That was Mom, the grandest gal in the world, always thinking of the other fellow. And so, I became a Marine. Then, after months of intensive training, we were shipped out. I don't remember much about the war . . I don't want to. Anyway, I hated it! It was all so futile, so senseless! I'm not say- ing that it wasn't a just war, if any war can be called just. It was the mud, the fog, the insects, the not knowing when the fellow next to you was going to sud- denly drop at your feet, a gaping hole in his chest. It was watching the splendor of a tropical' sunrise, knowing all the while it might be your last. And worst of all, it was the thought of all the telegrams being sent home to mothers or wives, and the rows of white crosses . . . mute testimonials of man's inhumanity to man. I was among those who strove for a foothold on that most desolate spot of all . . . Iwo Jima. My buddy and I were in the front lines that night. We had been toge.her for some time, and I knew him as well as I know myself. I thought as much of that lug as though he were my own brother. Anyway, he was unusually light-hearted that night, and it bothered me. It was almost as if he knew .... With the rest, we were advancing on a nest of snipers, when suddenly there was the deadly whine of a bullet, and he fell. I knew without looking that now 'there would be another cross, another telegram. I-I guess I went completely crazy then. With grenade in hand, I started for the cave from where the shot had come. All I wanted to do was get the guy that got 1ny buddy! I threw the grenade as hard as I could and dropped down to wait. It was then that I heard the whine of a mortar shell . . . it grew louder and more intense, with a deafening scream that could mean only one thing! And then everything went black . . . After a long, long time I awoke, shaking as from a bad dream. But I wasnjt on Iwo, I was on the outskirts of my own home town! I couldn't remember getting there, and yet it clidnit seem strange that I was. I started down the street on the double. Yes, there everything was, just as I had left it . . . the church, my old school, the drug store on the corner, and then, the little white house that was home to me. And there was a light in the living room. Mom must still be upf' I thought. As I reached the steps, I met Mrs. Burton. our next door neighbor. I

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I2 THE CAULDRON SURPRISE There was nothing extraordinary about the day. It was Saturday afternoon. People were coming and going, as usual, looking for anything that couldnlt be found, gasping about the prices, laughing at their neighbofs hat, and catching up on the latest gossip. There too, was a dejected looking dog on the corner, star- ing longingly at a string of frankfurters that was guarded by the plate glass win- dow at Millerls Meat Market. After watching him a couple of minutes, I realized that I was a little hungry, too. I turned into johnsonis. That was a favorite spot with the rest of the gang after dances and movies. It was vacant now with the exception of the girl behind the counter. Finally, the menu and I came to an agreement so I orderd a milk shake and a sandwich. Now I've seen an artist's conception of strange people from Mars, live seen freaks at a side show and live heard about the seven wonders of the world but I never thought I could be startled in my own home town, yet there it was. I had walked over to deposit a nickel in the juke box and returned, about to resume my struggle with a tuna fish sandwich, when my unsuspecting gaze rest- ed upon a window across the street. It was not the window itself which held my glance, however, it was something beyond. I say asomethingp' .... should I say nsomeonev? .... for as nearly as I could make out it was a woman wearing a bright yellow dress and sitting in a chair reading a magazine as if nothing was wrong. There was something wrong in my estimation though. That unexplanable apparatus which was on her head was by no means an ordinary sight to me, to say the least. It had long tenacles reaching up to a pipe above. Could she be tun- ing in on a coast-to-coast hookup? My milk shake and sandwich forgotten, I became fascinated by the mechanisms being displayed to me across the street. Soon a girl in a white uniform detached a lot of clips from the irons on the woman's head. She replaced the former ma- chine with another which swallowed the womanis head almost entirely. I don't think the victim could have been aware of what passer-bys thought as she sat reading that magazine, with a contraption similar to an upside down cake mixer on her head. I went back to my milkshake and sandwich, leaving the poor woman to her plight while I listened to Spike Jones, rendition of Dont Fence Me In . I hadnit realized before that -lohnsonis made such Havorsome sandwiches, but after four more of them, I had appeased my hunger, so I started for the door, eager to relate my observations of the afternoon to someone else. Perhaps Ioe or Kip would be mowing the lawn around the honor roll again. just then my mother emerged from the building across the street. She had her hair different, I think, but the only thing I noticed was the fact that she was wear- ing a bright yellow dress. Franklin Blaisdell

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14 THE CAULDRON noticed that she was crying, and asked what was the matter. She di,dn't seem to see me, so.I started in. I could see another neighbor inside with Mom, and they were both crying. As I entered, they were facing the other direction. I spoke, but they didnit seem to hear. I heard the other XVOUIZIYI saying that it was a terrible thing, but that he would have wanted her to be brave. Alarmed, I stepped for- ward, in time to see Mom lay a piece of paper on the table. just a little slip of paper, that was all . . . I picked it up, and with growing realization and horror 1'ead, The VVa1' Department regrets .... Paul M. Payson OUT OF THF1 WILDERNESS The house stood at the top of the long sloping emerald lawn, which was like a carpet of rich green velvet. Sometime before dawn, nature had dropped a lacy blanket of blossoms into the outstretched arms of the dogwood tree. The tulip tree was a flaming mass of red. The Wisteria vine was a dripping fountain ol lavender that filled the air with exquisite perfume. Tall hollyhocks nodded to and 'l r'O in the soft summer breeze. On this particular afternoon the sunlight and fragrance gave to the big, silent house the warmth it somehow lacked. Yet care was here, and charm and beauty too. There was the faint creak of a rockng chair on the veranda, where George W'illiams, pretending to read, sat grave and quiet. I-Ie thought of all the things le could not forget. The pain, the joy, the bewilderment, the losing struggle he had fought-then death which was so final and gave you no choice and left you no answer. After this he had gone abroad in desperation, only to return to Valleyview. his old summer home. Here he had come as a boy, with his mother. And here he had spent all his time during those sixteen years of hate, joy, fear, and sorrow. It seemed more like home than any other place on earth now, with memories in every corner--a house of memories of the past. He was free. The time had been so endlessly long. Sixteen years, the best of his life. he had given to his invalid wife. His thoughts Went back to the very begin- ning. He .was back in college playing on the football gridiron Above him some where among the shouting crowd was a girl with curly black hair and big laugh- ing blue eyes. They were married shortly after he graduated and they came to live at Valleyview. Wli-at-'aatease she was. It was during one of these teasing moods that she had gone out driving with his best friend. He had objected because Bill was a reckless