Kennebunk High School - Rambler Yearbook (Kennebunk, ME)

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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

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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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