Christopher Columbus High School - Anchor Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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love. We have saf for hours in a cleff of a rock fhaf iufs ifs ragged wef snouf far ouf info fhe Sound: we have laughed wifh ioy fo feel rain upon our faces, cool fresh wefness of rain, we have known fhe fingle and sfing of new fallen snow, fragranf and clean, and we have known fhe dark aufumn promise of deafh. We have plucked from fhe fleefing hours some small group of memories, fen years hence: Do you remember fhe fime John wenf fo his firsf dance! . . . Ten years hence we shall re- member fhe fime John wenf fo his firsf dance, and we shall smile and be silenf, frying fo recall all our losf fever and simmering ioy. How fo forgef our firsf dafe? The nighf we sfood awkwardly on fhe corner of some forgoffen sfreef, shiffing our weighf from foof fo foof, feeling fhe eye of every passerby upon our foolishly shame-scorched face? How fo relive all our false bravado and bragging falk and boasfing words? To recall all of fhis, our burning youfh, fhe darfs of desire, fhe dreams of fhe fufure, our cherished secref broodingsf? Then we were free wifh a freedom of ioy and power: wifh an ache in our hearf and a cry in our fhroaf. Why? Because we knew fhaf we were young, and age is corrupf and roffen, and deafh comes fo age while youfh lives on. And fen years hence, whaf fhen, yes, whaf fhen? Can you ever forgef our firsf dafe fogefherl You were scared sfiff! Oh, if was a riof! Remind me fo fell you abouf if, Mary . . . why I never . . . ! Ten years hence we shall remember fhaf firsf dafe, and we shall be ashamed. The wind is whispering in fhe frees, and along fhe Parkway fhe fires of fhe passing au-romobiles make a ripping sound as fhe rubber clufches The hard roadbed. If is January, and fhe nighf is long and cold. Jameson . . . '42, wasn'f if? Oh, yes, if was in '42, wasn'+ if? Buf fhaf seems so long ago! There was a girl . . . a boy who wore fhick glasses . . . and fhe school was filled wifh our voices, fhe day was burning sun- shine and in fhe yard fhe girls ran abouf in fheir blue bloomer suifs while fhe boys wafched from fhe windows . . . Mr. Fonfaine is coming . . . and always fhere is a ghosf abouf fhe corridors and in fhe rooms . . . a ghosf of us? Did we make some mark upon fhe floors fhaf will never pass, some specfre of our creafing fo haunf for- ever +his sunlif building? We were one wifh fhem, you and l, wifh all fhose ofhers . . . and fha? was, oh, many years ago, and we cuf our classes fo lisfen fo fhe ball game. Remember how all fhe people falked abouf Owen's dropping fhaf ball in fhe Ninfh af Ebbef's Field . . . a long fime ago . . . lf is dark in fhe school naw. The rooms are deserfed. The cusfodian's assisfanf has locked fhe door and deparfed info fhe nighf. Oufside fhe school fhe nighf is cold and January, and fhe sfars above shine wifh a chill winfer radiance. ln fhe silence of fhe nighf, we sfarf and wake suddenly in our beds, and our vision is suddenly flooded wifh all fhe memories of our school years, of fhe day we fook leave of one anofher and wenf forfh info a biffer and ignoranf world, shining flames in fhe nighf, warming each ofher's hearfs wifh our parfing words, never fo meef again. Shining flames we were, fhaf lif up fhe darkness . . . and some flickered fainfly and died info an ash, and ofhers lif up fhe world wifh fheir lighf. Who knows . . . perhaps one of fhose flames will shine forever . . . and fhe nighf will pass . . . George Zifo I7

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Each sang his melody, each, a differenf air. Oh, some fried fo be Kafe Smifhs and Bing Crosbies, ofhers fhoughf fhemselves opera singers, buf mosf of fhem were confenf fo hum a liffle fune fheir mofhers had faughf fhem many years before. And ofhers . . . Don'+ give me fhaf. I fold you fo give me fhe pencil, didn'f I? Suppose I don'f wanf fo? l'm nof asking you do you wanf fo. l'm felling you fo give me fhe pencil! Go on! Come on oufside if you're so smarf . . . Wha'I are you, a wise guy? So whaf? So l'm a wise guy. Do somefhing abouf if . . .' Yeal17 Well . . . if's a good fhing you're shorfer fhan me. Oh yeah? And ofhers, freshmen . . .female freshmen . . . So like I was saying Johnny phones me and says he wanfs fo meef me af fhe Square. You know Johnny, don'+ you? . . . giggle . . . giggle . . . giggle . . . laugh of a freshman. . . giggle, giggle, giggle. Boy, do I know Johnny! He asked me fo bring anofher girl, so I broughf Kay . . . Oh her? She's such a . . . I don'f know. Marie fold me fhal' one nighf . . . l know. Carol fold me. Buf anyway we mef fhem af fhe Square and we were siffing fhere in fhe car and who should come along buf my fafher! WowI Did you have lipsfick on? l did, buf you know Johnny! . . . giggle . . . giggle . . . giggle . . . Yes, info fhe school fhey came, all of fhem, fhe children. We remember fhem, for we were one wifh fhem, you and I. And as fhe years wenf by, we grew older and more wise, and looking back on our four years fogefher we remember a hosf of Iiffle unimporfanf fhings fhaf cling fo us and will nof perish. The firsf walk we fook fogefher along fhe Parkway. If was aufumn and cold. The breeze from across fhe Sound was filled wifh fhe odor of burning leaves and pregnanf wifh fhe fullness of winfer bife and sparkle. The leaves fell 'Io 'rhe ground in li'H'le dusky dusf clouds, and on fhe roadbed fhe fires of fhe passing aufomobiles made li'H'Ie crickef sounds. The coldness shivered fhe branches of fhe frees. There are some fhings which we shall never forgefz fhe firsf self-conscious puffings on a limp cigareffe, fhe rain and misf fhaf clung abouf a summer sfreef long ago, fhe warm sfickiness of fhe gearshiff knob on fhe firsf car we drove. All fhese are fhe fhings which we have known in our youfh: we have known beaufy, we have known I6

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The Longlfogege Fgur years ago we leff elemenfary school wifh fhe laudable ambifion of furfhering our educafion. Wifh much frepidafion and liffle ceremony, we began our Freshman Year in High School. We were defermined liffle souls, defermined nof 'ro be green or naive. No des- picable upper fermers were going fo freaf us like dirf under fheir feef. P. S.They did! Relucfanfly, we submiffed fo our lof, and fook our places as fhe leasf and meekesf, buf like all Freshies we survived fo ape our beffers. Evenfually we found ourselves Sophs, pracfising fhe airs of superiorify which we ourselves had so much resenfed one shorf year before. lf was as Sophs, having a new found sense of imporfance, fhaf we began fo ioin clubs. Some of us wenf ouf for fhe Leaders' Club, ofhers became members of fhe Sfage Crew, sfill ofhers made fheir voices heard in fhe language or fhe science clubs. Junior Year found us a liffle more sophisficafed. lNo pun infended.j We fhoughf less of impressing fhe young, and we managed fo conceal our admirafion of fhe Seniors. Indeed, we fell' secrefly fhaf ours was now fhe mosf desirable sfafe. Seniors would be so soon forgoffen while we yef had fime fo win immorfalify wifhin fhe school's walls. Neverfheless, we yearned more and more as fhe year sped by for fhe final, if brief, disfincfion of being eighfh 'l'ermers. A summer inferrupfed our fourfh year, buf fhis inferval did nof allay our eagerness fo be addressed as The Senior Class. Vacafion over, we refurned fo school, anfici- pafing glory. Books, feachers, homework would no longer be humdrum. Everyfhing would be differenf. If wasn'+. Our friends among fhe lower classmen were infenf upon fhemselves. Neifher awe nor envy shown in fheir eyes. They chaffered away abouf fhemselves in posifively brufal unawareness of our new dignify. Our feachers were as maffer-of-facf as ever. To fhem, we were fhe same pesky kids we had been in June. We decided fhis busi- ness of being a Senior was much overrafed, or else fha-I' we were fhe forgoffen men of our generafion. We foughf for place wifh fhe World Series and we losf--of leasf, we losf unfil fhaf magnificenf confesf was over. No one cared whefher you were a Senior, fhe poinf was were you for fhe Dodgers or againsf fhem. Buf finally our day came. The firsf Senior meefing was announced. We suddenly found ourselves burdened wifh responsibilifies. Nof only did we have fo gef ourselves graduafed, buf we had fo see 'ihaf our Prom was a success, fhaf our Year Book was compiled, 'rhof our class officers were elecfed, fhafl. Well, lef's nof go info if. We were full of enfhusiasm, endurance, and eagerness, and wifh blissful ignorance, I8