Bourne High School - Canal Currents Yearbook (Bourne, MA)

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Page Eighteen CANAL CURRENTS Appreciation Did you ever stop to think what the word appreciation means? If you haven’t, you should. To me it means a great deal — something we should all have towards others who do things for us. Have you ever appreciated enough what your parents have done, and what they will be doing for you? Have you ever appreciated what your teachers, friends, and others have done to help you to keep up with others in life? How much better a place this w ' orld would be to live in if we all appreciated what others have done for us. Let us resolve to show a little more appreciation in the future for the many things which are done for us every day. Richard Gonsalves, ’41. Autobiography of a Pirate Having been born in a small fish- ing village on the sea coast, it was only natural that I should love the sea. As a youth I used to spend every idle minute watching the fishing boats as they docked or talking to old cap- tains who fascinated me with their yarns. As I grew older I was allowed to play aboard an old boat which had been pulled ashore to rot away. I loved this old boat and played that I was her Captain guiding her in a raid on a merchant ship. Soon I be- came exceptionally skilled in climbing riggings, manning oars, tying knots and even steering by a compass. At night, I would dream of being a great pirate whom no one could overcome. When I approached my fifteenth birthday I was allowed to go on a trading ship with my dad. Two years later our ship was captured and sunk by pirates, who took me prisoner. I was speechless with admiration when I met their leader for I thought him very brave. I remained with the pir- ate band for three years. Although I was brutally beaten many times I still looked up to the leader as my ideal. At last after I had learned all the tricks of the trade, I made my escape and two years later I had a ship and crew of my own. They called me hard and cruel for ships either salut- ed me or they were plundered and sunk. My reputation was that of the greatest pirate alive. My dream had come true. Today with these memories and my immense fortune, I am living my last years in a fishing shack by the sea. Every afternoon I tell yarns to a fas- cinated group of boys, remembering that I was one of such a group many years ago. Natalie Wright, ' 41. America, The Land of the Free For centuries America was regarded as the ideal country where freedom reigned. Foreigners swarmed hope- fully to our shores seeking a new and better life. They came because this country was pure and they could have a part in its prosperity and free gov- ernment. This is not a pure country today, for every human race in the world is taking part in our government. Our government is being slowly under- mined by communism, fascism, and other secret organizations under the control of these foreign powers. These organizations have their own political parties and are steadily pushing them forward. Other politicians are being swayed by them and unless this de- struction is stopped we are likely to find ourselves under a dictatorship with no active part in the welfare of our country. This is not freedom! Let us strive to regain our title of glory and be once more, America, the Land of the Free.” B. Natalie Wright, ’41.

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BOURNE HIGH SCHOOL Page Seventeen “Around The World In Eight Days” Around the World in Eight Days ' ’ was written by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty, his Navigator They took off from New York in a sleek streamlined monoplane early o le morning and were determined to round the globe. Hundreds turned out to see them take off. Their first hop was from New York to some place in Maine. From there they went to Nova Scotia. Their next hop which was from Nova Scotia to Ireland was the most dangerous hop of the trip. At Nova Scotia they filled up with gas and the most needy supplies. They had to take as light a load as possible so as not to handicap them in any way while over the North Atlantic. On their trip across there was thick fog and they had to fly with instruments. They hit many a hard storm while going over, and were blown off their course many times but they managed some- how to get back on again. If Harold Gatty hadn’t been the able navigator he was, they probably would never have found their course again. Gatty ’s place in the plane was up back, and it is said that he is the only back seat driver” that ever made good! The trip across the ocean took more time than they had allowed on their schedule. They couldn’t waste a bit of time visiting for they would have to speed up on the other hops to keep up with their schedule. Near Russia they ran into plenty of bad weather. They crossed the Pacific way up north so that they wouldn’t have so much ocean to span. They Ended finally in Alaska. There they had a difficult time taking off because their engine was so cold it wouldn’t start. Ice formed on the wings so that it made the plane heavy. Not many men besides Post could have made a safe take-off, but he did finally. From there they made a hop that ended on the same field in New York from which they had taken off. Their time for the whole trip was eight days and some odd hours. There were mul- titudes of people waiting at the field when they landed. They escaped the crowd and for several days afterward, rested up. I liked this book very much be- cause I am very much interested in aviation, and there is quite a bit of adventure along with it. Richard Berry, ’41. Modern Art This title may bore you before I begin, but to those of you who are interested please understand that this is not about the horrible jumbles of proportion and color today called Art. It concerns, as the title states, Modern Art. The art of America today is not portrayed on canvas , as one might suspect. The camera has taken the place of the artist’s pallette. The colors are the beautiful colors of nature cap- tured by a single click” of the shutter. Examples of this work surround us daily — in magazines, newspapers, books — even Art Galleries advertise Photography Exhibits. There is good Art and bad Art — good photography and bad photogra- phy. Rembrandt and Rubens were ex- amples of masters of art on canvas. Bruel and Bloomenfield are examples of masters of art on film. Whatever effect Rembrandt obtained by the stroke of his brush, a good photo- grapher today captures with a ray of light. Photography is Modern Art. Ruth Brownson, ’41.

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BOURNE HIGH SCHOOL Page Nineteen How Do We Learn? We learn from history that we learn nothing from history. How true this saying is. If we benefited by others’ experi- ence, if we learned from history, would the world be in the turmoil it is today? But supposing we were to benefit from the exploits of our an- cestors by knowing enough then not to step on dangerous ground, still, would we be satisfied? Indeed not. It is human nature to find these things out for oneself. Who cares if people say I told you so”? We want to learn for ourselves, to experience the thrill of discovery. Every experiment in our chemistry book has been worked thousand of times, yet every one of the twenty stu- dents in our class is going to work them for himself again, and is going to get a big kick out of doing so. We have to discover things for ourselves. It is human nature. Phyllis Stockley, ’41. Summer Boarders As soon as the rays of the summer sun touch them they come flocking to the country: young and old, thin and plump, they make up the queerest assortment of tourists imaginable. First, there is a quiet old lady who wishes only to sit in her rocking chair and knit. A congenial sort of person, she at once becomes a friend to everyone. Respect is paid to her in every possible way. Just the opposite, however, is the great inventor and ' what not,’ Mr. Jones. Middle-aged and plump, he wheezes through an account of his daring exploits, his newest time- saving devices, or anything at all that will make him the center of at- tention. On the shady side of the veranda sits the old maid absorbed in a thrill- ing love story, forgetful of her beau- tiful young charge, the debutante. Stretched lazily in the sun is that overworked young lady trying to catch up on her beauty sleep after her social fling. It is much too quiet here for her satisfaction for she craves excite- ment every minute. There’s no need of a chaperone in this lonely place,” says she. Anyone can guess who the gentle- man with the horn-rimmed spectacles is. All day he pores over thickly bound books, or crawls in the meadow near- by for bugs. A perfect afternoon greets the drowsy boarders until cries of de- light pierce the silence and bounding up the steps is Mr. Naturalist, dan- gling his precious find before him. What a queer group fate has thrown together here! No two persons are leading a similar life, or are in the same social group. It’s fun to try to imagine why each one chose this country boarding house for his or her vacation. I’ve tried very hard and I’m still trying to reach a reasonable con- clusion. I just can’t seem to. Can you? B. Natalie Wright, ’41. Let Us All Be Thankful What is the real meaning of Thanksgiving? Surely it is not just the good things we have to eat. To us Americans it cannot help but have a much deeper meaning, especially this year. We should give thanks that our country is not at war, that our boys are not in the trenches and our whole land in danger of air raids. The hungry in this nation are fed, the poor are properly clothed, and little children cared for. Our schools and other institutions are of the best. There is a chance for each and every one who wants to take it. On this Thanksgiving day, and in the Christmas Season coming, let us all be thankful we are United States citizens. Franklin Ellis, ’41.