Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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IDX 1 7 I ODE TO PEACE By CALMAN AMBROSY, E53 A thousand, thousand years ago, Our ancestor, the ape, Perched high upon a lofty tree, Above his roaring enemy, Dropped cocoa-nuts of spheroid shape, Upon the beast below. And then the primal man appeared, No cocoa-nuts used heg A piece of skin he took, and string, And made himself a whirling sling, Then sent his stone unerringly- The weakling now was feared. Then passed a time, a long, long time, The knight came on the sceneg Chain armor, cap, and vest he wore, A heavy shield and lance he bore, He fought for country and for queen- But soon passed knighthood's prime. For now the smoking hre-arms came, Small use your armor, knight! The strong, the weak, the short, the tall ln war are equal, one and allg For skill is now the badge of might, And not brute strength or fame. In every stage, alas! we see Man fighting against man, It's not to help man that he tries, But from his brother's fall to rise, And grasp all treasures that he can, But long this will not be. Another day is drawing near, The pen shall rule that day, At first the populace will use The pen to injure and abuse, But even now, a voice I hear, This too shall pass away. For slowly man will learn to wield His pen in the noblest way, Then, only then, will cease this strife, Then, man will aid man in this life, The brute unto the god shall yield, And joy shall hold full sway.

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EN DURANCE Prepare to mount! Mount! We swing into the saddles and wait. Forward ho-oo! Out of the camp and onto the dusty roads we ride. At the head of the troop the guidon flaps in the breeze. The rhyth- mic jingle of the horse gear is a lullaby. An hour passes. We walk our horses, trot, and walk again. Another hour goes by. We travel over paved and unpaved roads, through Helds, woods, and towns. Three hours, and I begin to tire. I long to slouch in the saddle. The stirrup boot buckle cuts into my leg. Now we dismount and adjust equip- ment. The captain strides up and down the line. Keep working those horses' legs. Horses tire, men don't. That's what he thinks. Four hours, and we're really fatigued. Inadvertently I slouch. Sit up there, Kali, the sergeant bawls. At last we reach our bivouac area. But the day's work isn't over yet. Picket lines have to be set up and the horses groomed, fed, and watered. Finally the ordeal is over, and we eat, too. Then we relax, and someone sings out, This is the life-nothing to do but eat and sleep. SELF-SACRIFICE 'Steady now. just a bit more and we'll be through.' This was the doctor. Yes, it was a blood transfusion to save my life. For weeks I had been in a sick bed in the hospital, and finally I had lost so much blood that a transfusion was necessary. more nervous than anything else. All that I could really think of was the red fluid of life coming from a rubber tube into a glass container, ready for my eager arm. But this was not the first. There were nine others. So now I'm made up of many different kinds of Americans-English, Irish, Scotch. But best of all I like to think that I am an unofficial member of the R.A.F. because the Englishman who gave me some of his blood was a captain of the Royal Air Force. IN CONCLUSION The opinion has often been ventured that the deeds men do testify not only to their traits and characteristics but also to the inherent strengths and vir- tues of their forefathers. If we apply this reasoning in trying to anticipate the character of Americans of the fu- ture, we can see them combining the courage, perseverance, and integrity of this era of Americans with their own innovations toward perfection. We therefore need not worry about the future of our nation, but may truly agree with Benjamin Franklin when he referred to America's sun as a rising, not a setting sun. Acknowledgment is made to tbe fol- lowing boy: for their contributionr: Tele- mabor Lainar, 811, Wilbur Van Eyrden, 873 Paul Norrir, 73, james Weaver, 793 Robert Higginr, 72, Howard Goodman, 73, Milton Wilner, 76, Robert Hojjtman, 713 Walter Pyrkowrki, 793 Cbarler Mei- Jelbacb, A615 Sidney Flaum, 711g Wil- liam Scavotl, 72g Stanley Wojtarzek, 79g George Walrb, 88 g Tbomar Hayes, D61g William Crane, 79g Gur Manfredi, 710, William Kallmeyer, E625 Morton Did it hurt? Well, a little bit, but I was Handler, 75. ':-2:5-.1L.L 'q ,rvxrtil tl-' 0,15 f ., , , l'fHflff!. ' AIA . 1' ll' f 'ff 2 L I ' T M ' . - -fre, X 1--Y - , ,

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THE AMERICAN By WILLIAM A. LYONS, 89 I QIGHT before you stands an American who unfortu- E4 ,E nately does not exemplify xr ,V every citizen of this democ- . XR racy. He is, rather, what every citizen should be if we are to have democracy in its purest form. His philosophy of life has been expressed by Bertrand Russell in a recent magazine article, that is, he does not feel that as one person he is too insignificant to do anything worth while to beneht mankind. This quality is shown in the way he partakes of the privileges accorded him by the fathers of the Constitution. Every year at election time he is to be found at the voting polls in the local school, fully prepared to cast his ballot for his choice. To him this choice is very impor- tant and therefore he always acquaints himself with the background and quali- ties of the man he is to vote for. He re- alizes he must do this if he is to preserve his rights for himself and for posterity. This American is vitally concerned with our present foreign policy. He thinks that the moral point of view has been ignored by many people and since Britain is defending the ideals of democracy, then we, as the foremost practicers of the dem- ocratic form of government, should give aid to Britain, In following up his belief that foreign dictators are a definite menace, regardless of what expanse of ocean separate our shores from theirs, he has registered for civilian defense. His daily life consists of rising at seven-thirty on week-day mornings in or- der to be at work at nine. Wlien he goes home at five he looks forward to supper because, as he tells the boys at the of- hce, his wife's mind is chock full of darn good recipes. just as he likes to brag about his wife's cooking, he also takes pride in his children and well he might, for their characters are being helped in their development by the hour or so which he spends with them each night, talking with them and helping them with their homework. In this way he teaches them to use their minds to their best advantage. In the evening he also listens to the radio and reads the eve- ning paper and entertains or visits friends with his wife. Sunday is a day of rest for him. He at- tends church in the morning because he feels we cannot have unity within our country without faith. He is a strong sup- porter of the inter-faith leagues, believ- ing that these movements are the most potent cures for lack of unity. He is not the type who talks religion in one breath and then condemns his fellow-man for his shortcomings in the next. He knows that good will brings about faith and this in turn brings about an unbreakable fed- eration of mankind. This American enjoys Sunday after- noon because his youngsters derive so much pleasure from the automobile rides they take, the beaches and picnic grounds they visit, or the indoor games they play if the weather is not favorable. Tomorrow is his best day for it is to- morrow he will accomplish something else. This something may be trivial but it will be an accomplishment. Today was a tomorrow and today he strengthened the bond between himself and his family and between himself and mankind. This man does not preach democracyg he practices it. 11 s