Hartland Academy - Ripple Yearbook (Hartland, ME)

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oll' the envelope and read the contents. The letters continued to come. His only purpose in life now was to look forward to the letters. He occasionally thought of his wife, but he was gradually falling in love with Xt. It's funny, he thought, how much they looked alike. One Friday afternoon as he was walking up the stairs to his apart- ment, he thought he heard the faint drone of high flying aircraft. He stood stock still, waiting for the expected wail of sirens. No sound came. Baroooooommmminml The building swayed and creaked. Plaster sifted from the ceiling and cracks appeared in the walls. The movement. of the building jerked Ammond off his feet. He quickly sized up the situation, ran up the swaying stairs and burst through the shattered door. Through the window he glimpsed, to his horror, smoke-black thick smoke. He staggered quite dazed across the littered floor to the window and peered out of the gaping hole made by the blast. The scene confronting him was one of destruction. The whine of a blockbuster shook him from his shock. He looked up and saw the bomb looming closer and in an instant his whole life flashed before him. A minute later and he was huddled in a corner, unconscious and in a state of shock. He awoke in darkness. It was night and intensel'y hot. Fire curled around him. He was in agony for a few seconds then he slipped back into the blissful state of unconsciousness. Later, twenty-nine days to be exact, he returned to the shambles that was once his home. He had received from the bomb blast second degree burns and wounds from shrapnel. He rummaged, limping on his sore leg, through the ashes and twisted girders. He searched in vain. Dejected and sad, he started to leave. His eyes found an old, blackened metal box. Open- ing the lid, he unfolded some singed letters. As he read them, his face changed into one of joy and happiness. The letters were from Y3 himself, to Xt. Clethia must be XS, he thought. He scribbled a note and all it said was: Come home Xa! ' Love, Ammond JAMES BEER '62 What A Life! Don Jacobs was completely happy with his bachelor life, and he was determined to stay that way. He was a good looking man in his thirties, excellent in health and physical fitness. He would be a swell catch for any woman. One morning while lingering over his late morning cup of coffee, he glanced at the lonely hearts column in the local newspaper. There it was! Don Jacobs, age thirty-two, eligible, terribly lonely, will think of mar- riage and on it went, practically his life story for the public to read. Of all the tricks! he yelled, Wait until I see Jack. Jack was his best friend, and they had been through the war and everything else together. Practical joking was a common practice between them but this was going too far. He stormed to Jack's apartment, but he was no help to him, and feeling disgusted, he returned to his own residence. Several days later he received lots of mail. He read the letters out of curiosity and was amazed at the contents of a number of them. One woman, for example, asked him to marry her at once, and others longed to Sponsored by KEITH TAPLEY T .

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Be patient, I am coming, a voice said. The d-oor flew open and a small woman stood- in the doorway. Pablo's mouth opened and shock danced on the ends of his nerves. You cannot be Gina, he said. The woman stood in silence and spoke with amazement.. You are Dino? H'YeS.9! Pablo, come in and sit. Pablo slowly followed her in. It was a small thing that made us quarrel, Pablo, she said when they were in the room. Yes, it was, and my pride woul-d not allow me to return to you. But now you shall come home with me and- we will be happy once more, Gina. D. His wife smiled .up at him and said, We will be happy once more, mo. - SUSAN GRIFFITH '61 Lost Lofve Dearest X3 Please forgive me for the condition this letter is in. I am writing you from an air raid shelter. The Germans are bombing us again today. As I write you, I am sad in one way and happy in another. I am sad because this will have to be my last letter. These past two years by writing to you I have had an outlet for my emotions. Eiven though I have never seen you, I know from your own description what you look like. We have been the best of friends, but, alas, our letters to each other must cease. The reason is this: a couple of months ago I met a woman whom I liked very much. We fell in love and were married. This will come as a surprise to you because it is the first time I have mentioned anything about my social life. Please don't. write to me again because I will not answer you. You may have thought I was in love with yo.u. I am a little bit. Please forgive me. Au revoir, Ya Who are you writing to, Ammond? asked Clethia, his wife, out of the semi-darkness of the shelter. Just the insurance company, dear, he replied, knowing that it was a lie. The months flew by. Ammond and Clethia grew irritable toward each other and had frequent violent lights, arguments and quarrels. One night after a quarrel, Clethia, told Ammond that she was going to leave him. Ammond was so upset that he -stormed out of the house in a blind rage. He ret.urned and found Clethia gone. He began to drink and fell into a depression. One dreary evening while he was sitting in the kitchen of his apartment, he suddenly felt sick and passed out. His eyes opened slowly. He saw that he was in a small room with a few pieces of funiture. An elderly doctor came through the door and ex- plained where he was and how he got there. He had almost. been asphyxi- ated. He had turned on the stove burner, either on purpose or by accident. He could not remember. A few days later he was back in his own apartment. I must talk to someone, he thought. Who? I wonder if X3 would write me again. He took pen in hand, wrote a lengthy letter, mailed it, and waited for an answer. Three days passed, then four, and on the fifth day a letter came. He tore Sponsored by SNOWFLAKE CANNING CO.

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visit with him. One letter, however, was very interesting, and he won- dered if he should write funder an assumed name of course! a friendly let- ter in reply to her most enjoyable letter. He decided to, and within a year they grew to know each other very well through their correspondence. Her name was Jill Stevens, age thirty, unmarried, and- very nice. He found himself hoping to get a letter from her often. One evening Don decided to spend the night with Jack, since they hadn't seen each other since the newspaper incident. Don was always welcome and didn't think anything of walking in and shouting, Jack, old buddy, are you home ? While he was standing in the room waiting for a reply, a cute, dark haired woman came in and stopped suddenly. Excuse me! she exclaimed. Doesn't Jack Johnson live here? Yes, he does, smiled Don. Lucky guy. What do you mean lucky guy? she asked, Where is he? I was beginning to wonder the same, he answered, ignoring her first question. So that's how they met. Joan was J ack's cousin, and she had stopped to say hello on her way home from her vacation. Instead of waiting for Jack, Don escorted Joan to meet her bus. He was spellbound by her beauty and personality. He forgot his correspondence within a year, for he and Joan were to be married as soon as he could get time off from his office work. He got his vacat.ion and he and Joan were married. They spent a glorious two weeks honeymooning at a resort. The first year of' marriage was happy, without a care in the world. Soon, however, the glamour had dwindled. The firm for which Don was working wasn't prosperous, and they found that they must borrow money from her parents to pay the mortgage on their house. They disagreed on many things and they became unhappy. They both agreed on a separate vacation, and she went home to her parents. In Don's unhappiness he returned to his correspondence with Jill. She seemed to enjoy his letters, and he found much pleasure and happiness in hers. She seemed unhappy for a reason Don didn't know. He was con- cerned about this and decided that it would be nice to meet the woman whose letters had brought him such enjoyment. ' They wrote and agreed on t.he time and place to meet. When the time came 'for J ill's arrival, Don sat restlessly waiting at the restaurant. To his surprise Joan walked in and was equally surprised when she saw him. Were you going home? he asked, breaking the ice. - To be perfectly honest with you, she admitted smiling, I am look- ing for a friend of mine who was to meet me here. ' hl So was I, her name is Jill Stevens, do you know her '? he asked sheep- is y. W-w-why yes, you don't know Don Adams do you '? she stammered. With that they stared at each other in amazement. So I've been writing to the most wonderful person in the world! they both said at once. An-d to think I almost lost. him, s-he said, tears stinging her eyes. Come on, he soothed. Let's go home. SUSAN STEDMAN '62 Sponsored by R. C. WHITNEY 8a SONS, Dexter