Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 25 text:

The Branksome Slogan 23 It ' s Life I Guess The clock on Radio City was ringing out eleven-thirty as 1 trudged wearily up Sixth Avenue. Another day was coming to its close and still the employment agencies had no work for me — it had been two weeks now since I had been discharged from the Manhattan Transportation Company, and still no work — just why they happened to start tearing down the ' ' El ' s at this time, turning thousands onto the streets to starve to death, I couldn ' t figure out. I loved working on that El . My little dark room where I ' d controlled the train as it whizzed down the tracks taking people to their destinations, all this had been my sanctuary. I ' d felt 1 had a great responsibility with all those lives on my train — regardless of Joe supplying the power. But now all these memories only choked up my throat and made hot tears rush to my eyes. And so I passed it off as fate. ' ' There ain ' t an) justice, I mumbled as I pushed through the crowds of my equals — tramps they call us ! But what else can w e be — no jobs, no money, no food — why only yesterday Pete ' s daughter — she was a pretty young girl if 1 ever saw one, of course she didn ' t have swell clothes and all, but she was a handsome girl in a pure, clean way. And she had jumped off the ferry going over to Jersey City and drowned herself ' cause she didn ' t have the courage to go on existing in such a cruel world. Pete v as broken up about it, too — he was a good sort, haven ' t seen him around to-day — guess he feels it too much ! I couldn ' t stand the horrible gnawing in my stomach any longer — my back ached, my shoulders ached, every inch of my body seemed to be screaming in my ears. Give me something t o eat, a place to rest — some, if only a little, comfort ! And so 1 started begging — begging right there on the corner of 44th and 6th Avenue. Please buddy, give me a dime for a cup of coffee. But no ! Those hard set jaws and steel eyes just looked right through m e, completely ig-noring my cries — or some, a little more polite would shake their head saying, sorry, I haven ' t any chang ' e, and walk on. These men you easily see didn ' t have much trouble, good job, steady money, why should they stop to give me some of their money? And as I was falling back into the thought of injustice again, a young girl slopped and gave me a quarter! I had only a quick glimpse of her but I saw her blue pitying eyes — she didn ' t look as though she had much to spare, but she had given me real monev — monev that she had worked for! 1 rushed across the street where the big sign of the automat was, and entered. It was warm here — warm and light, quite a few people too ! T walked over to the desk and got my precious quarter changed into nickels — it looked like a lot of money when you had five silver pieces instead of one. But soon I had put one of the pieces in the slot and hot,

Page 24 text:

22 The Branksome Slogan These slopes proved an excellent lead-up for Steven ' s Fields, which we conquered in the afternoon. Here, some learned the truth of the Red Man ' s version of the famous sport, Swish, — and then walk a mile. But occasionally, stemming between sprawled figures and tangled skis of hapless experimenters, a flying figure would flash from the summit. The descent was a poem of soaring grace punctuated by swinging christys and termi- nated by a graceful telemark, who can it be ? (Name and other data concerning this wonder woman supplied upon request). That evening, fun and frolic held sway at the Town Hall. The orchestra jived and Branksome shagged. Even nocturnal festivities, however, didn ' t keep us from the trails and chalet of the Huntsville Ski Club. The downhill run provided thrills, spills and plenty of amusement. An optimistic Track from the summit, a rush of wind, a skid of skis, a soar, a swoop, and alas — a froth of snow and the gleam of inverted ski poles ! The grimly determined athlete then mounts once more, loath to admit that it ' s Snow use. During the course of the turkey dinner which awaited our return to the Rest , some of these unfortunates were seen lowering themselves gently into chairs upon which reposed plump cushions ; but even this slight indisposition did not curtail their evident enjoyment of the excel- lent meal. In everyone ' s opinion the week-end was rated an all-star success. Even now, in anticipation of next year ' s trip, some of the more progressive students are labouring over ingenious devices and inventions. Padded ski suits, non-skid skis, and folding pocket-sized ski poles will, they believe, revolutionize the sport and may heighten the already well estab- lished success of the Huntsville Week-end! SHIRLEY JACKSON, Form IV A.

Page 26 text:

24 The Branksome Slogan steaiixing coffee was pouring into my thick china cup. I found a chair and table in a corner where people wouldn ' t be apt to look at my shabby clothes and torn boots — silly for a man like me to have any pride isn ' t it? I felt the hot liquid seeping down my throat and it seemed to bring me new hope, new life with every sip. ' ' Take it slowly there— got to make it last! ' Oh those sandwiches look good, and look at that man at the next table shoveling in those baked beans — I could buy those ! But no, I can ' t, I mustn ' t, why I ' ve got tomorrow to think of — and the day after ! No, I must save my silver nickels. It gave me rather a sense of superiority to sit there, knowing I could buy food, but denying myself, not being weak and giving into my wants like those other people. All too soon my cup was dr} except for the moist sugar at the bottom, and my linger soon removed that ! The friendly warmth and light of this place made me realize how tired I was and how I longed for a home. Now take that man over there — I bet he ' s got a wife and kids, sure he has, look ! He ' s putting some of his sandwich in a napkin to take home to them. Well, I ' d better go, where? Oh, Central Park, I guess! VIRGINIA EDWARDS, Form V S DEEP SEA FISHING This summer I had an interesting experience which few of us from the inland provinces may enjoy. I went deep-sea fishing. We would rise about six o ' clock in the morning and provided that the seas were not too heavy, would set out in our boat for the open sea. It took about three or four hours to find a suitable fishing ground, usually about twenty-five miles from shore, out in the open sea. The bottom would be sounded by drag- ging a line along the floor between one hundred and fift} to three hun- dred feet down. When the spot was found, we would ])Ut on heavy rubber overalls, rubber coats, rubber hats, and coarse gloves, bait our huge hooks with whole herrings, and lower our thick co] ])er lines, dragged down by huge weights, to within six feet of the bottom. As soon as we felt a nibble, we would jerk our line and pull very hard. After the line is about twenty- five feet from the bottom, the fish can no longer be felt until it is almost at the surface of the water. There is no greater pleasure than to see a shining fish come up through the water after a long and tedious pull. The prize catch that we. had this summer was a fifteen pound halibut. This was not because of its size but because it is a fish that many fisher- men have never caught on a line in their lives. Besides this we caught haddock, cod, pollock, and many other varieties. With a catch of about twenty- five or thirty fish, all at least two and a half feet long, we w ould return home tired and hungry at about seven o ' clock. JOY FERGUSON (Form IVA).