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

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BOURNE HIGH SCHOOL Page Twenty-three co very” was a cure for cancer. The doctor thinks, as he is dying, of his childhood life, of how he and his mother had been so dear to one an- other, and how they had fought pov- erty in a strange land all through the years of his youth. He yearns to see his mother again (she had died years before ) , and then he does see her, and they speak to each other, using the same terms of endearment that they had used forty years before. His mother leads him out of the hospital room and as they are passing down the hall he sees the night nurse drop a letter as she attempts to put it in her pocket — as the unopened letter lay upon the floor he could plainly read the sentences contained within, de- spite the stiff envelope and a flap of blank paper! A young house-maid coming towards them had left a door open behind her. The doctor looks downward, seeking his bare feet. There is nothing there! His mother hurries him out of the hospital and they rise above the city; the man feels all pain, discomfort, and tiredness leave him. She tells him that death is not at all what she had ex- pected, that his father and sister are there, and others whom he had known and loved; that dying does not transform people, It helps us, but it doesn’t change us into angels, as we used to think. This is but a step on the stair.” He asks if there is punishment for things done on earth, if the slate is wiped clean, and she answers him — ' Yes, dear, but it is the same hand that writes on the clean slate. Our- selves are our reward and our punish- ment; and we can’t escape ourselves.” They pass indistinct forms, of which he can distinguish only one, that of a little boy who at one time had been lame but who is now run- ning and jumping. In the distance his father and sister are waving and bless- ing him. but he cannot see them. His mother tells him that she does not know whether there are angels and that she knows very little of anything religious — We need faith here as much as on earth.” The son learns that they do not stay there because it is just a step on the stair which they leave as they left the life below; but joyfully and not in fear, for each step is higher on the stair.” His mother tells him they must part, only to meet later on, but that he may stay where he is or go back and finish his work. Sacrificing his own, wishes, he decides to return to the life below. His next experience is in the hos- pital room where he again feels the weight of his years and the ravages of his illness. After three weeks of convalescing, he tells the story of his discoveries in the life after to an old friend of his, another doctor, who supposedly had saved him from death, and proves it by the nurse and the letter she had lost. He told her where she might find the letter and while she is searching for it, he writes down the first few lines that he had read while the letter lay upon the floor and gasses them to the other doctor. The nurse returns with the unopened letter in her hand, he asks her to read the first few lines and tell them to the other doctor. She does this, saying that the author of the let- ter had died very soon after she had lost the letter. The doctor finds the written lines coincide with what the nurre tells him. and then he has to admit the man’s soul must have left his body, and that his experiences in the life after must have been true. Although my ideas are not in ac- cordance with some set forth in this story, I enjoyed reading the book very much and would recommend it as a thought-provoker to any adult. John Wilson ' 40

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Page Tu enty-tu o CANAL CURRENTS ary, 1929, he discovered new land, and naming it Marie Byrd Land for his wife, claimed it for the United States. The North was in Peary’s blood. For eighteen years he hoped and worked, returning time and again to the Polar regions, learning from his failures, and always paving the way for the final victory. His wife shared his ambition, and spent several win- ters with him in the Far North where their little daughter was born. The child was called Snow Baby” by the Eskimos, because of her white skin. The expedition which finally reached the Pole was the eighth which Peary had made into the Arctic reg- ions. They had all been of much scientific value. Peary had explored Greenland, crossing its northeastern corner in one of the most remarkable sled trips ever made, and had proved it to be an island; he had brought home the great Cape York meteorites, the largest in the world. He had sev- eral times attempted to get to the Pole itself without success. For his final success he received great honors from nearly all important nations, and the United States raised him to the rank of Rear Admiral. Phyllis Stockley, 41. A Civilized World We, in this world today, consider ourselves at the highest peak of civil- ization it has ever known. As we sometimes think it over, however, many of us would delete this state- ment. It is true that during the last hun- dred years we have had many great inventions and a remarkable age; yet in the time of Caesar and before, the people had constructed buildings of great architecture and had many things that were far more outstanding than some things of today. The Great Wall of China, the Roman buildings in rural England and in the city of Rome, the Pyramids of Egypt all are examples of this. There is one question we can ask, and probably never will we receive the correct answer, That is, ' Will some of the world’s great structures of today still stand two thousand years from now?” Another thing that in my estimation, proves we aren’t so highly civilized, and which may be the down- fall of civilization, is the failure of people to get along with foreign peo- ple in neighboring countries. Twenty-five years ago some of the nations in Europe, large and small, got into a conflict that grew into a World War. The reasons for this were greedi- ness on one side and ignorance on the other — not being able to see the other side’s viewpoint. So the nations fought. They claimed in Europe through propaganda that this was the war to end all wars”. They said civilization would, as a result, progress, and man- kind would benefit. Yet, here we are with twenty-five years elapsed and the beginning of a Second World War. The same nations are involved because of practically the same reasons. If the present conflict develops into another serious World War it will be a great disaster for civilization. It will take many long dark years to rebuild. John Viirre, ’41. A Step on the Stair I. Published in 1913 by the Bobbs- Merrill Co., Indianapolis. II. A story of life after death. III. The strange possibilities of life after death — the experiences of one who died but was restored to life — a e set forth with a peculiar appeal in this strangely sympathetic story. The central figure is a physician who is stricken suddenly, sinks rapidly and dies, just before completing his big discovery. The story hints, but does not state, that this doctor’s ' big dis-

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Page Tuenty-four CANAL CURRENTS WISHES Oh, how I wish I had studied — Studied with vigor and vim — When the school year’s half over — And examinations begin Oh, how I wish I had studied — Studied instead of played — When the year is half over And the next class I invade Oh, I wish I had studied — Studied with might and main — When I try to answer some questions And I try and try in vain. Virginia Robbins, ’41 The Staff of CANAL CURRENTS” wishes to express its appreciation to Miss Ruth Marr, and to the following Juniors for their assistance in the typ- ing of material for this magazine: — Charles Aylmer, Annie Borghi, Jane Brooks, Alison Coady, Blanche Coppi . Hope Cristofori, Richard Gonsalves, Evelyn Harrison, Richard Jarvis, Robert Jarvis, Peter Karal- ekas, Mildred Querze, Paul Schroeter, Phyllis Stock- ley, Alda Tassinari, Celeste Vercellone, Mildred Wing. Natalie Wright.