Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLEC TOR - , afternoon. A telephone call shattered the peace and calm of Freddie's home, and his mother regretfully pllt aside her sewing. There followed numerous ejaculations of dismay and distracted apologies. Barbara-Jane's mother was extremely vituperative about Freddie's activities, and expressed her emotion in rapid, angry, and lengthy sputtering. Needless to say, Freddie's dietetical inclinations were abruptly terminated, as well as his talent for marksmanship. From the sounds issuing from the house when his father arrived, one could almost believe that Freddie himself had terminated. The origin of the egg supply and the amount and price were all taken into consideration, and I rather think that Freddie slept more com- fortably on his stomach that night. One need not go as far as New England, however, to see young innocence in its full glory. Several days ago, attracted to the window by a great clamor outside, I saw a congregation of children in the street. They had all varieties of vehicles, from bicycles to roller-skates, but only two at the time were in use. As I watched, fascinated, I discerned two apart from the rest, one Master Drew, and Billy. They were approximately twenty yards apart, in wagons, and facing each other. Someone in the group apparently gave the signal. They made for each other at top speed. CRASH! Billy was thrown out onto the street by the impact: he was not hurt, but was full of righteous indignation-well, at least indignation. He seemed to be trying to communicate to Master Drew that he had violated the regulations of the tournament. Master Drew evidently remained uncomprehensive, because Billy became violent when he received no satisfaction. His right hand landed solidly on Master Drew's visage. In a moment they were clawing, punching, and bawling in outraged fury. Meanwhile, those who had been spectators joined the fracas. The boys as- sisted, mostly verbally, but the weaker sex aided the winner of the tourney by administering resounding kicks on any part of Billy's anatomy that came into view until I ran out and rescued him from enraged juvenile citizenry. Not only are they like the old Romans in their. desire for gladiatorial combats, but the majority seem to aspire to the modern type of piracy com- monly known as racketeering. From the time they get up until they go to bed. they are industriously secreting themselves in bushes, garages, and any other convenient hiding place. They imaginarily shoot each other down just as ruthlessly as the gangsters themselves. My stand on this subject may be biased, because usually our back-yard is used for their hideout, and there are numerous raids on it every Saturday morning. The raids themselves aren't so bad, but coupled with puerile shriek- ing, they entirely disrupt the sleep I'm trying so desperately to make up. Today I was startled into wakefulness by a raucous debate as to whether jimmy was dead or not. After vainly trying to induce them to leave for a yard down the street which has as many admirable qualities as ours, I equally vainly tried to get back to sleep. But it was like trying to recapture an eluded dream. The disgruntlement of this frustrated desire indirectly led me to write this defamatory outburst on the innocence-and gentleness-of children. 15

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THE REFLEC TOR l The Innocence of Children By Norman Leland, june '36 Children, contrary to popular belief, are not as innocent as they sometimes appear. I have seen 1nany who look like little cherubim, but who are, in reality, little demons. For instance, there was Freddie. Freddie lived with his mother and father in a small, quiet New England town. Now Freddie's mother had a habit of sending little Freddie down to the corner store for various supplies, for these, she invariably ran a charge account. Freddie, who had his share of intelligence, soon recognised the simplicity of going into the store and getting what was needed by asking for a slip , One day little Freddie, with several of his allies, decided to make pies and cakes. They started out, innocently enough, by diluting some brown earth with water until a proper degree of adhesiveness had been reached. After a time they became tired of such unconvincing results. Their cakes did not even slightly resemble anything that they had seen at home, furthermore, the results looked anything but palatable. This situation was thoughtfully remedied by Freddie. He had seen his mother use eggs in her cakes. Xvith wicked cleverness, Freddie remembered the corner store. Into the store he went, first admonishing his companions to wait outside or Mr. Clark might think something amiss. ln as short a time as it takes to tell about it, Freddie was out again with two dozen of Mr. Clark's best strictly fresh eggs and a slip . Back to the scene of the first experiments they trooped. After fifteen minutes or so of more advanced research with the soil and water mixture, but with the added ingredient of nine eggs, a very sticky, yellowish-brown batter ensued. They even went as far as to heat the mixture on an old sheet of metal until dryg still, none of them wished to take advantage of the calories and vitamins in the concoction. In that respect, Mr. Clark's eggs were dissipated. However, it was great sport to make things with real eggs, which Freddie generously supplied. As children will, after indulging several times they wearied of the diversion, but this fact did not prevent them from finding new and bet- ter advantages in the use of eggs. Freddie proved himself to be an inventive genius on the subject by revealing to his compatriots that they make very satisfactory projectiles to be employed against the other progeny in the neigh- borhood. This discovery was enthusiastically received by Freddie's friends, and it was through this enthusiasm that Freddie's down-fall occurred and the source of the eggs was cut off. Barbara-jane, one of the little girls in the vicinity, was out for a walk with her doll carriage. She strolled blissfully along, completely unaware of the foul plot Freddie was conceiving. vVithout warning, a barrage of the fragile missiles burst on and about the young lady's person, with disastrous effects to both young lady and perambu- lator. The sequel to the bombardment of tl1e young Miss took place early in the 14

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THE REFLECTOR l g GRO V C? ax X- I It 4 H f - we 'il ' h- Q f, 1 ,W Deshny's Road V X 1' ia 1.12. f xx i By Richard H. Young, june '37 ' K 1 W K T l.f1.vs if l- 'if N I - fi'-lll l fe : The time-worn Four-wheels and T p ' - Goes rolled to a stop in front of the ar g:-D Colinsville General Store-rolled to f 'W T f 'So 7 a stop because that was all it could do. Long ago its brakes had been consumed on the daily trip from Ebenezer Stiles' home to his store, a distance of about a mile. The road running out that way was little used because of its danger spots. Chief among these was the Devils Slide. Leading from town the road at one point made a sharp right turn, dipped down at a terrific angle, and a thousand feet down the hill swerved left around a rock wall. Straight ahead lay the Slide. A thin board fence was the only protection from a perpendicular drop to the rocks below. Thus had the brakes been used up, and lately Stiles had used another road. So much by way of explanation-and back to town. Eb Stiles detached himself from the steering'wheel, climbed down to the dust, and ambled over to his store. . 'Mawnin', drawled a bystander. Eb looked up and beheld the person of Slim Perkins, Eb's oldest friend and best customer. 'Mawnin', returned Eb, as he drew out his jangling keys and opened the store. Bin waitin' here 'bout half hour, said Slim. But I don't mind, so long as it helps you. Thanks, returned Stiles. A friend in need is a friend indeed, he thought. With that, he walked over behind the counter to serve his friend. What'1l it be this mawnin'P he asked. Quart 'uh milk, roll 'uh Hypaper, some apples-and a fryin' pan. Need a new fryin' pan, eh? Well, I've just one left. Dollar and a half. But I'll let you have it for a dollar. Nothing doing! ejaculated the customer. You charge me full price and fergit it. Ed added up the amount, and as he did so, a slight haze came into his eyes. Here, he rel-lected, was one who had stood with him through thick and thin. Long years ago they had had many good times together. Eb had got him- self a wife, but Slim remained unmarried. Then, fifteen years later, when his wife died, Slim had helped Eb in every way that he could. Only Eb's daugh- ter, Sylvia, was left, and Eb devoted all his attentions to her. just now Slim was again lending him the helping hand in supporting Ebenezer's rapidly 16