Colonel E Brooke Lee Middle School - Cougar Yearbook (Silver Spring, MD)

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Tomorrow Night The sun was hot and shone brightly as Northeaster High let out for the weekend. The kids stampeded out of the huge wooden doors and down the stone steps that led to Green Street. After everyone was gone Pat Wilson closed the locker she shared with Linda Wyatt, and started down the hall toward the doors. It was funny how long and lonely the halls were after everybody else was gone. She couldnit go home, at least not now, and face the empty apartment. It looked the same as it always had, but now something was missing. Mom wasn't there anymore. Now she was in some sterile, starchy white uniformed hospital, dying of some disease only the doctors could pronounce. Over and over Pat asked, Why, Mom? She finally went home and faced the apartment. Hoping beyond hope to hear Mom's voice call from the living room Is that you, Pat? Don't forget to hang up your coat. How was school today? Instead she found it the way she had left it, dark and lonely. Better get dinner started, Dad will be home soon, she said to herself knowing that neither of them would eat anything. After dinner they'd get dressed up and go see Mom. By now they had run out of cheery phrases and had quit planning fabulous vacations for the future. All they talked about now was the weather and the new red light on G Street. Then some saccarin nurse would come in and say We need to rest now. We'll see you again tomorrow night. Pat and her Father would get in the car and go home. Both of them blaming their sniffles and watery eyes on the colds they never got and knowing that one of those tomorrow nights the nurse talked about, would never come. Susan Park ' 49

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l l WHY ELEPHANTS ARE GRAY I Once upon a time, deep in the jungle, there W, s a tribe of blue elephants. They were the only elephants in the world. The youngest of this tribe was named Thumper. l One day while Thumper's mother was doing the lairndry at the river, Thumper and one of his playmates wandered away froifn the village. They walked along the riverbank to the waterfall. At the walterfall lived a very mean lion. Whenever someone from the village came nl-:ar his tree house, he would do something terrible to them. As the elephant children neared his treehouse he called who dares come near my lvaterfall'? Your waterfall? screamed Thumper. c'Since when is it yours?b' Are you from the village? called the lion. l Well, what if I am? talked back Thumper. Thumjier's playmate was backing away from the treehouse and waterfall. The lion grew angry. Are you from the village? he rpared. Yes, we are from the village, said Thumper and added quietly, Sir. The mean lion sprang from his tree and chased Thumper and his playmate. He pushed Thumper into the river and poor little Thu, per fell over the fall. As Thumper scraped along the bottom of the riverl his beautiful blue skin scratched off until all that was left was an ugly, virinkly gray color. That is how elephants got their gray skin. 1 Janet Vielhaber N l HOW THE FLAMINGO GOT llTS NAME The Weak and The Strong A Young Puerto Rican walks down a New York street. He stops in a bar for a beer. A man sitting at the bar makes some sly remark about not wanting to drink in a joint that served dirty Puerto Ricansf' Someone nearby tells the man to shut up. The man sends the young Puerto Rican a dirty look, and walks out. Everyone in the bar sits and stares at the young man. He can feel the icy stares on his back. As he gets up to leave a place where he is unwanted, something stops him. It is not a person or a material object. It is a feeling that wells up inside of a person that prevents him from giving in. He refuses to be turned away by these small people who are strong only in groups. And so he stays until the last swallow of beer has made its way down to his stomach. Now a new feeling enters him-one of triumph, of knowing that he has actually won a battle within himself. As the other men in the bar slowly file out, they, too, experience a feeling. Their feeling is one of shame and guilt-and justly felt. A smile comes to the lips of the Puerto Rican. He begins to leave the bar and he notices a man waiting for him at the entrance. It's the man who told the drunk to keep quiet. They meet, talk a little, and laugh. Then, together, they walk down the now-quiet street. Helene Silverman You would never guess this is how the pink bird, who can't fly got its name! It all happened on a misty day in the Everglades. The Royal Ordler of Birdsf, was having its monthly meeting. The minutes of the last meeting were read. Today's order of business con- cerns the name of our club and members. It shows such little thought, our name is tool hort and besides we need a specific name for our secies. You must have guessed by now, what took up the next hour. The members were arguing over the title of its club. It just so happens they had an eavesdropperg Herman the hermit crab, who was not in favpr with the birds. He had it all figured out in his fmind for years, fbecause that is all he had to do.j 'llhe only thought that troubled him was how to get jthe members to accept it. live got it, said Hernfan. I'll use the initials of my title I thought of fwhich were obvious- ly F .L.A.M.I.N.G.O.j If I yell out in the confusion like a bird they will never know really who I am and they will be sure to accept it bCC3?.lS6 I think it is appropriate, if I do say so myself. j Sure enough, it was. accepted without further ado. The Flamingos, Cas they now were proudly calledj were all so jealous among themselves, that they didn't bother to ask who suggested this ingeneous idea. This jwas just perfect for Herman. Of course the Flamingds never realized what their name meant. Come to think of it, not many people do. So, I'll just slip it in, Feathered Lunatics fwho arej Awkward Manielcs Inc. Not fto mentionj Goony Oddballs. Ann Postman

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I h The Experience It was at cool, sunny Friday. It was peaceful and quiet. Just then the clock peaceful spell was broken. The school bell had rung at Oakville Jr. High. All of iii struck three, and the s pupils came pouring out, laughing and talking loudly and happy because school was over for the weeki Hey! yelled Lynn. Wait for me Ellen. Lynn ran to catch up with her ot Jody. Hi!, I got out of math kinda late. God! Was that test hard. Man! I didri proclaimed Lynn. Yeah, it was pretty hard, replied Jody. I don't think I passed it, added Ellen. I was just thinkin about that lecture we had at the assembly today. You re all that stuff, you know, grass. Do you remember when we were taking the s Carol., I remember, and too well, answered Ellen. You never told me about it, protested Jody. We never felt like letting anyone know, cause if our parents found out we'd answered Lynn. Tell me about it, asked Jody. Well when we went to camp last summer, Camp Carl, ever heard of it? aske Um, Isn't that somewhere in New York? answered Jody. Yeah that's the place. We met this guy named Sandy. He was a real cute guy We all got to be friends with him and to make a long story short he got us starte counselor found out and helped us get off the stuff, and here we are today, finis What about Sandy? asked Jody. Oh him, someone turned him in. He was taken to Juvenile Court. We really what happened, added Ellen. But did you like the stuff while you were taking it? asked Jody. When we were on a trip or just stoned or something we felt really great. It then the stuff wore off. We'd come down and we needed more and more, replied All I know is I'll never take that stuff again, whispered Carol. The girls told Jody all about their experience while they walked home from sc I'11 See Yalaterf' Said Lynn as she opened her front door. Then the rest of t their own way. Then Jody glanced back to see if her friends were out of sight. They were. Sh bottle of pep pills out of her pouch, unscrewed the top and popped a few departed for her home. 'l her friends, Carol and It think I'd finish it, inember on drugs and tuff at camp? asked really be in trouble, Lynn. ,, but he was a pusher. nil on drugs. Our camp hed Lynn. don't know for sure was really cool. But Ellen. hool. he girls split and went ia smiled and pulled a in her mouth as she i DotFried : 5 Q - .. .auf q 5 3 5 4559 at 1' w i V Q W i G W 1, .-5 -, W .V Eg ZX 'pi Q 'Sw . Y , 'r' A ' Z3 ith' 'QA C, fbi S I . , Q . a f el AIA Q55 ' W Q a? v, ff K- . J ' ., Q xgp Q L.. .