Framingham State University - Dial Yearbook (Framingham, MA)

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17 Running across the tracks I just stood stock still, for, to my horror, my train was just moving out of the station. I could have put my hand on that train and I stood there impotent. My hands unconsciously clenched and if I had been a man instead of a feeble woman I would have expressed my feelings in suitable language. I had to wait a whole hour in that station for the next train, so I had gained nothing by not following my mother's injunction. Furthermore I could have slept another half hour if I had known that I was going to miss that train. I turned wearily back to the station to compose myself and to ask kind Providence for patience that I might not think harsh thoughts about the Boston and Albany, when my sense of humor came to my, assistance in my hour of trial, and I laughed-yes, laughed, until the tears came, and then I felt better. Well, I waited an hour in the station, and fifteen minutes for good measure, for the next train was late. What do you think of that? If the first train had only been late, I would have got itg but out of the large fund of my traveling experience, you can believe this that I tell you. When you are late for a train, the train is always on time. I got into the ,train and after stopping at every little station, the train stopped at South Framingham at twenty-five minutes of nine, just five minutes too late to get the half past eight car for school. I thought ironically to myself, Well if I had succeeded in getting that half past eight car, it would have been a miraclef' I waited ten minutes in the freezing cold and at last, I got into the quarter of nine car. To make a long story short, I arrived at school just two minutes too late for opening exercises and I was tardy. How I got through the day I don,t know, but I took the two forty-eight train home, was stalled an hour, arrived home about half past four, resolving in my heart that the next day I would start for my train half an hour before it started, or my name wouldn't be Julia Fleming. i J. F.. F.

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16 The Trials of a Train-Girl NE morning I dreamed that I had experienced the keenest mortification by failing in every class that I had attended that day. From this pleasant dream, I was awakened with a start by hearing that familiar ring-the alarm clock. I am so light a sleeper that I generally need only an alarm clock to wake me, but occasionally I do sleep rather soundly so that even that does not succeed. I looked at the clock, and, after a long intent stare to see if my eyes were deceiving me, I cleared the middle of the bed with one leap, and, luckily landed on the floor. Usually, when I intend to land at a certain place, I never do, especially if I am in the gym- nasium. The clock said as plain as day twenty minutes past six gn and that exasperating alarm had gone off late. I ought to have been up and dressed by that time. The whole household was awakened by this time and each one was doing her best to help me out, but, as we are a large family, we only succeeded in getting in each other,s way so many times that, if I had not been so nervous and in such a hurry, I would have laughed until I cried. After someone handed me my rubbers and someone else put on my coat and hat and I had found my bag, I rushed out of the house. My mother's last words were: Remember, I told you to wait and take the later trainf' I have found out by bitter experience that whenever I get that injunction and take no notice of it, something is bound to happen. VVhen I got to the bottom of the street my car was no where in sight, so I decided to walk or rather run, to the station. I ran. My hair coming out in strands and flying in my eyes did its level best to blind me and prevent me from making much headway. The wind blew very strongly and my eyes filled with tears. But the climax came when I got so blinded that I fell. Of course everyone was looking and a friend of mine who had been behind me all the time, although I had not known it, offered his assistance. I was so embarrassed, mortified, and angry that I declined it with curt thanks. After I recovered my equilibrium I started out to finish my race. I was so out-and-out, Anglo-Saxon mad, that I decided I would get to the depot if I died in the attempt. I think it took me about a minute more to get to the station.

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18 A Hurricane VER since earliest childhood I had heard of that most fearful of all storms, the hurricane, and wished away down in my heart, as I listened open-mouthed to the wondrous and marvel- ous tales, that I, too, might taste of that experience. It was not until the year 1906, however, that I had this fantastic wish Cas it mav seem to some who feel not the joy in the dash and plunge of the wavej granted. In September of that year I took a trip to one of the West India islands. The weather on the downward trip was perfect and the sea as smooth as glass. One of our number, Mr. Blank, had a camera with which he was wont to take pictures of most anything he could take a picture of, but his one crowning ambi- tion was to secure a picture of a wave, a great big wavef, and at no time had he ever had an opportunitv. As I said, all went well on the downward tripg and all was going well on the return trip until the third day. It was on the said third day, about three hundred miles to the north of Cuba, that the waves suddenly changed their peaceful nature, and one by one the passengers went crawling to their rooms with that weak, wan, smile and the old so often repeated remark, I think I shall lie down awhile, until only a few remained in their chairs upon the deck. As the wind rose and the waves grew higher the steamer naturally began to roll, and still more naturally, by the force of gravity, our chairs began to slide on the inclined plane. Things at last grew so bad that we had to have our chairs ,lashed to the railing that ran around the house. All went well for awhile, especially when the ship rolled low on the other side, -but when she rolled on our side it was hang on for dear life and many times we slipped half out of our chairs. While we sat there watching the waves, which were perfectly marvelous with their emerald colouring and snowy breaking tops, we noticed two birds flying close to the ship. They were about the size of a crow and of a rich brown colour, from their beaks I knew them to be birds that fed on fish. At last they succeeded in making a landing and one of them alighted almost at our feet, this at the time surprised me very much, as birds of that kind are usually of a wild nature and when touched will attack one fiercely