Holbrook High School - Echo Yearbook (Holbrook, MA)

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THE ECHO 13 (Snowball exits left.) Miss Martin (looking up at Ben. Hackett who is just entering with Snowball) : Yes we can make the decision without a great deal more thought on the subject. (After this speech Mr. Navarra alights from his position on the desk and moves backstage a trifle. At this point he begins to get a little nervous.) Snowball (going towards right and then exiting) : Well, ah guess ah’ll be leaving. Ah neber could stand seein’ anyone turned down. Ah only hopes dat de best man do win — ah sho ' does. (Exit.) (Miss Martin rises and crosses to the desk where the three men are. In her hand she carries the notes which she has just been taking.) Mr. Wall (clears his throat, and looks expectingly at Miss Martin) : Well, what do your notes show. Miss Martin? Miss Martin (with a pleased smile) : I’ve compared all my notes on both boys with the type you need for your production, and I And that Mr. Benjamin Hackett is just the type you need. It calls for a typical, all-round, country boy, and that’s just what he is. C. Navarra (very indignantly) : You mean to stand there and tell me you’re hiring that — that clumsy, corn-fed, hayseed in preference to a real actor? (At this moment Snowball comes hurrying in carrying Mr. Navarra’s cane, and he stands near him as yet unnoticed.) Mr. Wall (with a superior air) : I’ve hired my actors for nearly twenty-five years, and I guess I am still capable. (Looks toward Snowball who is standing next to Mr. Navarra, waving his cane.) C. Navarra (looking at Snowball) : What in the Sam Hill are you doing standing there waving my cane like an idiot? Snowball (grinning all over) : Ah was just a thinkin’ you will be leavin’ us. Is ah right? Mi ss Martin (smiling) : I think you were right for once. Snowball. (C. Navarra stands glaring at them all for a while and turns to leave.) Snowball (walking after him as if to lead him to the door) : Ah’s po’ful sorry you don come way up here fo nothin’ but as de sayin’ goes “May the Best Man Win.” Well, ah don think the best one did win. Goo’ by, Romeo. You better go on back to yo little Juliet. Maybe she still likes you little loves scenes. (Mr. Wall, Miss Martin, and Ben. Hackett all stand watching Snowball with an amused look, and Snowball makes a very stiff bow as C. Navarra exits left.) Mr. Wall (cheerily) : Snowball, you get smarter every day. Snowball (jumping out and shouting): Hurray! Doggone it, boss, ah don know, yo would discover mah talent some day. CURTAIN

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12 THE ECHO all together too cock-sure of yourself today. Go on down stairs and don’t let me set eyes on you again today. Miss Martin, you go and show the gentleman in. Miss Martin (sympathetically) : Yes, I’ll see to him, but don’t be too hard on Snowball, boss. He really does mean all right. (Exits left.) Mr. Wall (kindly) : You may go now, my boy, but wait outside, I may want you again. (Ben. Hackett exits left; Mr. Wall sits and drums his fingers nervously on his desk.) Miss Martin (enters left and with her. Carlo Navarra, the dark, foreign looking gentleman who walks very straight, with a gallant strut across to Mr. Wall’s desk) : Here’s the gentleman you asked to see, Mr. Wall. His name is Carlo Navarra from Hoosick Falls, New York. C. Navarra (sitting himself on the edge of the desk) : Yes, that’s me. When do I start to rehearse, and, by the way, is that cute little secretary (with a wink toward Miss Martin) to be my leading lady? Mr. Wall (very irritated) : Why, young man, what makes you think you are going to get this job? You’re pretty sure of yourself. C. Navarra: Why, of course. I knew that before anyone else did. Miss Martin (disgustedly) : Yes, I guess you did. (Rises and exits left, looking back at Navarra disdainfully.) Mr. Wall (thoughtfully) : Now, I would like to know a little about you. What made you start in this business, anyway? C. Navarra (twirling his hat in his hands) : Well, I used to take part in all the plays at school. I was so good that the people nick- named me Romeo. Mr. Wall (beginning to lose interest) : What kind of scenes did you play in? C. Navarra: Oh, I’ve played in all kinds — love scenes, comical and others, but most all my plays were romances. Mr. Wall: Just how many plays have you been in, Mr. Navarra? C. Navarra (putting his hand to his head as if to think) : Now, let me see, one, two — yes it was three, but I used to say poems when I was a kid. Mr. Wall (in a surprised voice) : Three! Why, my dear young man, don’t you know you’re supposed to be experienced, or have won a prize, or gained some sort of mark in the dramatic world to even dare to show your face in one of these offices? C. Navarra (still in his know-it-all manner) : Well, you see, sir, I have so much confidence in myself that I was sure if I had a chance I could show you some pretty good acting. (At this point Snowball enters right bringing the afternoon mail, which he places on Miss Martin’s desk. He walks very slowly on tip- toes trying to keep Mr. Wall from seeing him.) Mr. Wall (looking up quickly) : Snowball, you may show Mr. Hackett in now. (Then turning to Miss Martin.) Have you prepared all your notes. Miss Martin? If you have, I guess we are ready to make a decision.

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14 THE ECHO MONOTONY The monotonous movements of the tired, dark-skinned, patient slaves were back-breaking. The first slave in the line picked up the rock, passed it to the second slave who passed it to the third slave. The third slave gathered the rock in his arms and tossed it to the fourth slave, the fourth to the fifth, the fifth to the sixth, the sixth to the seventh and best man, who dropped the rock in a stone crushing machine. Another rock on its way! Another! Another! Another! The sixth man dropped a rock harder in the last man’s arms. The next rock was heavier. The next lighter. The next heavier ! Muscles strained! Dizziness! The men’s heads swam in dizziness from the unending, unbearable heat, and the unendurable sweat-shop work they performed. The first man’s arm finally became numb to all sense of feeling, and his work proceeded like that of an automaton. The last six men became dizzy from the continuous turning from left to right. To get — to give — to get — to give. These movements, too, were spon- taneous to the sight of a rock. Would they never end? Seemingly, no ! But the actions of the men at the sound of the bell which announced their half-hour relief soothed their tired and worn bodies for a surprisingly short time, for at one o’clock again they were pick- ing up, receiving, giving, and tossing heavy rocks for a seemingly endless time. Mabel Iveson, ’36. TRAVEL There is no better way to spend money than by traveling. The first place to see is the United States, for there is nothing more bene- ficial than knowing all there is to know about your own country. The climate in this country is so varied that traveling is comfortable at any time of the year — north in summer, south in winter. Canada, Mexico, Central and South America are interesting countries. After seeing all there is to see there, take a trip across the Atlantic to Europe, Africa, and Asia, and then across the Pacific to Alaska. It should be arranged so that you arrive in Alaska in the summer time as that is when the full beauty of the country is realized. Today travel is made very convenient and comfortable by good roads, modern automobiles, trains, buses, airplanes, and ocean liners. Automobile is the ideal waj to travel wherever and whenever it is possible to drive. With an automobile you can go places that trains and buses can not go. Trains, too, are modernized to the last degree. Buses, perhaps, are more cramped than the other means of travel but are, nevertheless, good. Airplanes, of course, are fine for speed, but they don’t give the passenger much opportunity to view the country. Today’s modern ocean liners are far removed from the old-fashioned way of ocean travel. The benefits derived from traveling are many and varied. It gives a person a broader point-of-view for one thing. Seeing how