Franklin K Lane High School - Senior Echoes Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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MORNING NOCTURNE Five days a week, I rise af seven- Geffing up is like leaving Heaven: Yef every morn, I vow again To go fo bed fonighf by fen. To fhe breakfasf fable wifh sleepy eyes, I drag myself wifh weary sighs: I gulp my milk, grab a bun from fhe plafe. I look af fhe clock-I'm nearly Iafe. I gafher my books and rush fo fhe door: I fhink for a momenf, is fhere anyfhing more? Then I remember I haven'f my haf- No use fo look, I can never find fhaf. Down Ihe sfreef my liffle feef run, As if I was shof ouf of a gun: Af fhe corner I look fo 'fhe righf: Jusf my luck, nof a frolley in sighf! Finally a Trolley does arrive: A way fo gef in, I musf confrive. The crowds do push and really squirm: Puf your nickel in , says fhe conducfor so firm. I finally gef change and furn abouf, When suddenly I am pushed furfher ouf: Af lasf, my nickel rings ouf Ioud, And I force myself info fhe crowd. I muse fo myself, lf's all a joke, When suddenly somebody gives me a poke. Gosh. buf if's awful fhis fraveling around! The frolley gives a Iurch, passengers're down. Affer fen minufes I'm ready 'ro drop, We come fo Lane and I spy a clock: I should already have been in school- I run down 'Ihe campus like a fool. I seem fo be forfunafe, my fIoor's number Ihree: I dash pasf all fhe ofhers as if on a spree. Up Through fhe sfairs I rapidly pace: I darn near fall flaf on my preffy face. JUNE l945 I7

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FRESI-IMAN DAZE 9 ,O Q JLM 1 Looking back Through The years, Tour long years, I can recall Those firsT few days in Lane as if They were buT yesferday. I was fair meaT for any fanciful Tale. I was so sweeT and TrusTing. I believed everyThing They ever Told me. A lie? Innocenf IiTTIe Freshman ThaT I was! I chose Lane To be honored wiTh my presence for The simple facT ThaT iT was The newesT of all The schools. Ah yes! Lane was new, srill may be considered new, and ignorance was bliss. I suspecfeol somefhing fishy in The air when I asked for direcfions To my hearT's choice. WhaT were They? Well-To quofe my guide, Walk To The nearesT cemefery, knock aT The fifTh TombsTone Three Times, and walk down . OT course, I ThoughT he was crazy buT wiTh The passage of Time, a wee biT of wisdom managed To sink in. I found ouT all Too soon. How many cemeferies did I pass when walking up from The Crescenf STreeT bus? Was iT Two or Three? Now as a child, I had always had a morTaI fear of These lovely, peaceful places. I used To have The bad habiT of bursTing ouT crying. I guess all children pass Through ThaT sTage, and alfhough I had advanced beyond iT, fond remembrances came fIiTTing back To me, and The mosT awful sensaTion hiT me in The sTomach, ThaT was how I was feeling when my eyes firsT beheld Franklin K. Lane I-Iigh School. Yes, I grar1T you ThaT our building is impressive looking, buT why did They surround iT wiTh cemeTeries? Weren'T archiTecTs or civic planners ever young? I overcame my awe and my various feelings and proceeded To walk ThaT exfremely shorT paTh leading up To The main enTrance. l'Iow did I ever manage To survive? The resT of The day was rouTine sfuff, excepT ThaT iT Took me nearly an hour To find my way ouT of The building, buT I'm Told ThaT I didn'T do Too badly for a beginner. ThrusTing TempTaTion aside, I force myself To skip over The many Tricks played on Freshies . I Try To forgeT The maze which faced me, buT I musT reciTe some of Those fanciful Tales. Would you believe ThaT I fell for This one? Lane is such a very new building ThaT They've puT all kinds of new devices and gadgefs inTo iT. They even have secreT panels in The walls. When The fire drill signal sounds, all These panels slide open and The pupils line up before Them. Then, one by one, each sTudenT siTs down on The edge of The opening and finds himself sliding down a long chuTe which deposifs him ouTside, in fronf of The school building. I-low could anyone be so gullible? Now all elemenfary school graduaTes have heard of Regenfs. Is There anyone in The STaTe of New York who hasn'T? Regenfs are spoken of only in The mosT hushed voices and wiTh The uTmosT secrecry around Them. You know The Tower on The Top of Lane, don'T you? Well, They Told me ThaT everyone who Takes RegenTs is led up To ThaT IiTTIe room and for Three whole hours, sweaTs iT ouT There, alone. IT he finds The Regenfs a biT Too hard, a window is always handy, and The school always wishes To do whaTever iT can for iTs sTudenTs: so They Take charge of The burials. The school boughf a special ploT of ground from ThaT nearby cemefery, and you should see all The former LaneiTes ThaT are buried There. Could I ever have been ThaT young? I'm a SENICR now: buT even Though I haTe To admiT iT, I musT concede ThaT I was once a Freshman, Tool Frances I-Iorowifz I 6 SENIOR ECHOES

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x S1 . Affer panfing and wheezing, I come fo my floor: I furn fhe knob and open fhe door- lviy feacher faces me, and says wifh a sigh, Your mofher says fo come home, you forgof fo say goodbye! I Arlene Koeppel WI-IAT I Alvl LCDSING I JLM. Whaf am I losing, you ask, as I don my cap and gown and prepare fo receive my high school diploma? I can only answer 'rhaf by recalling all fhe happy hours I have spenf wifhin fhe porfals of Lane, and fhen fhe frue realizafion of fhe value of all fhaf I am abouf fo lose almosf overwhelms me. There is no one specific parf of my school life in Lane which I can poinf fo as an example of whaf I shall miss, buf fhere are many small, seemingly insignificanf, fhings which will always Iinger in my memories when I fhink back over my years in Lane. I have no idea why fhese fhings should remain fixed in my mind, and yef I know fhey will. I know fhaf I will miss fhe mad rush down fo The cafeferia every day, fhe fhrill of seeing my name in fhe Reporfer , fhe anxiefy of waifing for a fesf mark, 'rhe despair of faking home a slighfly red reporf card, fhe happiness of seeing Lane win a baskefball game, and all fhe ofher fhings which make high school life evenfful. Lef's sfop a momenf and see if we can organize fhese memories info one recognizable group which we can place on a shelf in our sforeroom of memories, never fo be forgoffen. There will be fhe memories of our building: fhey deserve a place in our sfore- room. Whenever we dig info our pile, and dusf off fhe memories lying fhere on fhe shelf, we should be able fo find fhoughfs of Lane wifh ifs long corridors, rooms, offices, Iaborafories, and cafeferia. Some of us will undoubfedly remember fhe many periods spenf in fhe Sfudy Hall lcalled a Sfudy Hall even fhough fhere is always conspicuously Iiffle sfudying going onl. I-low many enjoyable hours we have all spenf in fhe Lane swimming pool, or up in I.ane's spacious library. Yes, we should nof forgef fhe building where we spenf so There remains many happy hours. sfill on.e memory which we musf nof neglecf fo sfore away in minds reserved for fhoughfs abouf Lane: fhe memory of all our going fo Lane hasn'f succeeded in making us wiser if cerfainly has given us an opporfunify fo make many good and Iasfing friendships. If will be difficulf fo say goodbye fo all 'rhe sfudenfs wifh whom we have grown up fhese lasf four years, fo fhe friends who suffered and sfruggled fhrough fhe same fesfs wifh us, and afe fhe same cafeferia lunches. Ah, whal' memories! Whaf am I losing? Well, on fhinking abouf if, I realize fhaf if would fake pages fo fell of all fhal' I am losing. Somefimes I feel fhaf graduafion isn'f going fo be as pleasanf as I had imagined 'way back in my Freshman year. Sure, fhere have been ups and downs, buf fhey have all gone fo make up fhe pleasanfesf four years of my life. Gosh, if's hard fo say goodbye! fhaf corner of our friends in Lane. If William Nesfor I8 SENIOR ECHOES