Kennebunk High School - Rambler Yearbook (Kennebunk, ME)

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HURRYING DOES NOT ALWAYS SAVE TIME Generally speaking, one is expected to hurry in a circumstance where valuable time lost may mean a complete reversal of plans. Hurry, or you will -be late is an expression that often reaches your ears. You rush madly forward. There isn't time to ponder on trivial matters, but su-b- consciously you feel it necessary to again count the minutes on your watch until four thirty. Yes, you have only twenty-eight minutes in which to reach your destination. It is no laughing matter when you must dodge, at top speed, motor vehicles and pedestrians on Forty-Second Street in order to reach the comparative quietness w-hich prevails at The Little Church Around The Corner . To prevent losing a precious second of time, it is often necessary to violate traffic regulations. I believe one is ex- tremely lucky who can pass safely through two red lights, wind one's way between pedestrians on a yellow light, and ignore a STOP sign. Up to this point, I succeeded in breaking all traffic, rules and regulations en- countered. But -because I speak from experience, I -hereby state emphatically that anyone hurrying to be on time for his own wedding should never, never ignore a policeman's whistle! lncidentally, 1 never did get married! JEAN MACDONALD, '50 ..i,T10l,il IN DEFENSE OF THE ONLY CHILD And how many brothers and sisters .have you, my dear Y they ask. None, I mumble. Innulmerable times in my life has this conversation taken place be- tween me and teachers, mothers of my friends, and other adults. Each time, on hearing my meekly spoken none , I have noticed the raising of eyebrows and knowing glances, and I have sensed the immediate label-a spoiled -brat. Therefore, I feel that it is about time someone wrote in defense of the only child, since not all only children are spoiled. Being an only child isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Has anybody ever stopped to think that in the case of the only child there is nobody else in the family on whom to put the blame when something goes wrong? For instance, a vase is found broken on the floor. Is there any question as to who did it? No. The Only Child did. Then again, rank card time comes around. In a large family there are four, five, or even more, rank cards to inspect and a little C here and there could easily be overlooked. On the other hand, in the family of the Only Child a C stands out like a neon light. In the large family each child usually d-oes somet'hing a little 'better than the others and is highly commended for it, but the Only Child has only herself to excel. My parents may have been over-conscientious-for they too knew the concensus of opinion regarding the only child-but, as a small child, I was taught always to share my belongings. Every time I had candy given me, I was expected to pas-s it around, and even though they didn't like it and 5l5dn't especially want it, my parents would always take some, because,

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everyone was to head for home. Fifteen minutes later all dormitory exits were locked. Please forget those who were locked outside their dorm. This was my fate just once! A hard cot felt as comfortable as a feather bed at the end of a stren-uous and happy day such as I experienced at the University of New Hampshire Music School last summer. JEAN MACDONALD, '50. -.i-....0......-.-..... THE END OF DAY It had been a -beautiful day, the kind you always wish for but never get. Tue sky was deep blue with an occasional cloud floating majestically across the heavens. A gentle breeze blew from the west as the sun sank nearer to the darkening 'hills. The water was dark blue in placesg and the rest took on the reflection of the sky with an occasional shimmering cloud in the water. The dull roar of the waves against the rocks added to the call of the wheeling sea gulls, their glistening feathers -shining in the sun. Below the wharf in the darkening waters many schools of small iish swam about. Occasionally a white body shot through the air and was followed by a sharp splash. Then up would shoot a fiery little tern with a small herring in his beak. In the distance ca.me the sound of a motor boat as it plowed toward its mooring. The air began to grow cool and the gulls settled on tall spars and poles and in the water. Slowly nature's noises quieted or ceased, but still the roar of the breakers kept on, seeming louder as other noises decreased. The sky to the west turned slowly to brilliant reds and yellows. The tide shifted and sta1'ted to rise on the shores. With it came cold southerly breezes from t-he Atlantic. Suddenly the quiet was -broken by a motor boat heading up the cove, its wake rolling steadily towards the shore fol- lowed by smooth water. The grass and reeds began to sway in the breeze. Patches of water started to fill with hundreds of tiny ripples. The skies to the east were now turning dark while the evening star -shone in the faint glow to the west. The islands in the hanbor looked sinister against the remaining sunset. The 'boats lay at anchor facing into the wind, their hulls showing white against the dark waters. The pier was now lonesome as everyone had gone home to supper. An occasional car was parked by the road, and a few people watched as the sky turned its colors and finally began to grow dark and cold. The harbor lay dark and quiet as the stars began to shimmer in the sky, for another day had passed by to be forgotten. CHARLES MACKINNON, '52. 29

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and I quote, Candy should be shared. There must be a child somewhere who once must have been allowed to win a game when playing with his szlders. Was I? Of counse not! Then there were the errands to do. There was always something for me to do--go to the post-office, get the groceries, or return books to the library. There was never anyone to help me out, and it seemed to me that my parents stayed awake nights thinking of things for me to do. lt seemed to take me all day to get the errands done: whereas in a large family of children the errands would have been finished in much less time. If I complained I was told, You mustn't be selfish. Helping others is good for the character. I hope that with these few paragraphs I have shown that those raised eyebrows and knowing glances are not entirely deserved. The life of an Only Child is not exactly a bed of roses. Ask me. I know! ASTRID BRIDLE, '50. 31