Jefferson High School - Nautilus Yearbook (Lafayette, IN)

Page 3 text:

Whistling-The Immortal Art XVhistling-the immortal artg I say immortal because how could such shrieks as emitted by most of humanity, when they indulge in the so-called whistling, be called earthlyg and I say art because according to the best authorities, all else passes, art alone endures. XVhy else would this nerve-racking occupation have endured so long? By definition, whistling is an ill wind that nobody blows good. Woe unto the lad who gulps down three of his largest fingers, and with a mighty gasp draws into his lungs, buckets of air used in hurling forth a blast which has the power of a steam engine, the loud- ness of a siren, and the penetrability of a pig's squeal. It is he who fulfills the definition to its 'umpteenth degree. It is he who causes the very skeleton to shudder and shiver beneath the skin. To say that this is the only type of whistle enjoyed by humanity would be an injus- tice to the majority of high school lads who go about with lips puckered and faces twisted, making the halls sound like a gulls' rookery. There is the rosy, apple-cheeked whistle that goes merrily along, inserting a lilt here and a variation there, until the tune is :i mere jumble and completely unrecognizable even to its composer, and there is the soft, serene whistle which picks for its theme a mellowed old favorite to float upon the breeze like the fuzz of the cottonwood in autumn. Ah, yes, these are truly beautiful whistles-if only they were in tune. As practiced by the birds. whistling is a marvelous achievement, and one full of many possibilities: but as maltreated by the lips of humanityg-it is awful, in accordance with the fullest meaning of the word. And until the time comes when man equals bird in pour- ing forth his song, whistling will ever remain an immortal art. GEORGE KAPLAN, '3 S, Q E 2:1111-fu