Manzano High School - Scepter Yearbook (Albuquerque, NM)

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THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT Weaving in and out, dodging careless big feet, Gerald made his way down the bustling, big city side- walk, his grubby little hand holding tightly the few coins in his patched pocket. His jeans, obviously well- worn hand-me-downs, were still several sizes too big, a problem solved if you remembered to roll them up and not put anything of value into the front pockets, be- cause they had a tendency to gape open at the tops. But that didn't worry Gerald, not today. He just clenched his fist tighter and thought about whatever it is five-year-old boys think about when they're on a very important mission. He had been waiting all week for today. His little kool-aid stained mouth turned up in a grin as he thought about the present. Two carnations, a red one and a white one. These would be his birthday present to Mama. And he knew she would like them. She'd said so herself when he asked her. His eyes searched the crowd for the flower girl that stood on the cor- ner. There she is! Little legs moved flleflections of a Sandg 'yesterdag Trembling sadness of melancholy dreams Strawberry patches have withered and died Unsuppressed emotions now bursting their seams Echoing a windsong a whippoorwill cried jasmine and Roses you said would be mine A song in the mountains and sweet apple wine But what am I left with here in my hand The symbol of nothing- a small grain of sand ...laney Guthrie faster as two little hands helped keep people out of the way. A stray dog decided it was a game of chase and joined in. But he didn't expect it to be over so soon as he plunged headfirst into Gerald's body, send- ing boy and dog sprawling in oppo- site directions. The hollow sound of metal hitting metal and echoing down to emptiness brought Ger- ald's hand quickly to an empty poc- ket. A sigh shook his whole body as he stifled the sob that threatened to surface. He sat on the sidewalk, cradling a blond head with his hands when a cold, wet nose poked itself between his arms. Gerald looked up into the scraggliest but most apolo- getic face he'd ever seen on a dog. The dog plopped down beside him, offering himself to Gerald's tears. All of a sudden, Gerald sat straight up and dried his face with a sleeve. He took hold of the dog's ears and tugged gently on them. Say, dawg ..... how'd you like to be a birthday present? ...laney Guthrie ,L-Q: .- on the floor idols flaring arc-light scorching smokingtwilight vagrant monied minstrels clutching clouding astrals magic writhing spastic tragic boogie plastic ...Mark Campbell ff: -4-'::.: -:a53?Ei:-.kr - . ., .. -. ,, 1 Lu- -- '--mf. eg-. way -y- Q71-:+I-1-tiff.: 1 52 QSSFMQTNP . -'-.rs-arts ':F'g.,,, ' .4 :-f:f',5j-'f!g5.f',?- 1: I-1-'-3:1-as ft' ' 'lfi?z?i?l??ElfE'2-97-pi. Qttkifkfiif fi -1 . afrgwfnp ,,,z, .,-,gf fg,.,n Nt, -- X '- . - gqfgg'-2 -i'.g..5Igg5.2gc nxi. a:ag4.:.'l.:':a.-1. Axe. l -7 gary' ff' 1-5 4iifffa:Mf!1-5 A' -.iiislizlfaxtva-22199 'G . f f gmac.-7? ' f'4!'ag:i-ng.L5Q:. f 5,9-ff 4f'1' ziggefa: -' ' , ,.-, lf- ,. f -- --2 i ' G0 , 1 . . ,E-5.f442,.,,:i3' ll ...v- I f 4-Q41-2-f?:gf151:7 3 --1 4 ,V ff:-.avi ,ggk-Y, -2?'::-.7.fy.:.,12LCf5 ' , ttf 4 'Q-i'?1'fa -: fc U K f 'ji' '. 'tt i z - j ' f 41' X g .ff ,qll ,f ' Q' L: ,f ,!, , r my-:I ' ,, X f f , l will - ,. f X X l,.. ,j I, , -----'.- Q ki F-.ENQ--X ,A , -'T - -J: 'L - . -- T ' . T- -x , . . . 5- 3.3-,, can-.V., - , 5 , - ' ' ' 'S . -'.'a e1r-lzf. f- ' -ae3:rft:1'a'.:tf35':f,-:a'e:a'G'- - lil V - .- va.- --A 1-ae. .-----1-.zz-,-.f-:-,-:f -fi - 'J -zur: ff- I--'-.'Z'. :-'JY cigar- ' l-Q - j 2 a ,-:ith .lffirfius 5-. - - ' .fi- - -1- 2 1:,:guS:-.1-rw ' -ff-W..- 77 -f 2 -'TQ .- 4-.- fd-3-:I- -.-. .,- ? ,,,...-? il,-f i' - , ,fi Fe..- ,,..., fffif-T1 gp.-'al ,1-

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The Frrrng Mr Bluestern hrs harr somewhat bleached from the sun strode brrskly rnto the school offrce The arr con drtroner always seemed to be workrng overtrme rn the of frce and rt made hrm shrver He gently took a seat rn the cold metal charr and started wonderrng why the prrncr pal had asked to see hrm after school It was Teacher of the Year award trme and that thought nudged the cor ners of hrs mouth rnto a slrght smrle He qurckly drscard ed that thought though recallrng the trmes he had been reprrmanded when the prrncrpal had unexpectedly popped rn on a class to frnd teacher and students lost rn laughter usually at somethrng that he the teacher had sard or done I expect to see a more serrous atmosphere next trme I vrsrt one of your classes Mr Bluestern the prrncrpal had sard through hard lrps I wrll wont I? He had had to say Yes srr even rf he drdn t mean rt whrch he usually drdn t But that was passed and he hoped that by now the prrncrpal had notrced some of hrs good pornts He con srdered hrmself a farrly good teacher and was somewhat proud You may see Mr Bartley now lack Huh? He looked up startled out of hrs thoughts by the secre liar Oh okay Thanks he smrled He stood up took a drrnk from the water fountarn whrch clrcked and started to hum just as he pushed the button and bravely strode rnto the prrncrpal s personal offrce not knowrng what to expect Mr Bartley was bent over a putter and golf ball the top of hrs bald head reflectrng the lrght rrght at jack You wanted to see me srr? jack questroned wrth a broad smrle The prrncrpal glanced up and promptly smrled Crt was probably phony lack thoughtl assumrng a fake arr of en thusrasm Yes yes' Srt down Bluestone srt down' he bub b ed Uh thats Bluestern srr lack quretly corrected Of course rt rs declared Mr Bartley lookrng resent ful of berng corrected I suppose you re wonderrng why I called you here There he goes wrth hrs clrches agarn lack thought jack sometrmes thrngs don t work out the way we d lrke them to Mr Bartley sard rn a fatherly tone of vorce Could you get to the pornt srr please? jacks vorce had a touch of rrrrtatron rn rt and hrs smrle was fadrng Mr Bartley srghed Okay You re frred he blurted matter of factly lack muttered a weak Oh and looked pensrve for a moment Oh well he brrghtened up What the heck? Im young rrght? Of course agreed Mr Bartley No hard feelrngs? jack smrled agam Of course not Why would I be mad cue ball head? Mr Bartley laughed then suddenly frowned and self conscrously felt the top of hrs head Phaethon Lrsten lack whrspered rn mock serrousness leanrng towards Mr Bartley Thrs Easter why don t you parnt your head brrght col ors and hrde rn the grass untrl someone trres to peel ya? lack sard rn a sardonrc vorce Bartleys face drdnt know whether to laugh or look drsgusted Hrs mouth frnally broke rnto a grrn then a laugh lack drdn t really thrnk rt was funny but he laughed to get Bartley laughrng laughrng hysterrcally becomrng weak and dropprng hrs putter lack was begrn nrng to become very rrrrtated Hrs eyes checked to see rf the front door was closed It was He glanced nervously out the back door whrch led to the brg trash brns where onlytheranrtors went Srlence abruptly entered the room Bartley s laughrng ceased as he dropped to the floor a red gash rn hrs head from the putter As lack wrped the sneer off hrs face he wrped the blood off the putter head wrth Bartley s coat tarl Checkrng nervously over hrs shoulder he grasped the unconscrous but warm and alrve body rn sort of a headlock and dragged hrm out the back door There was no one around He decrded he couldn t put hrm rn a trash brn for he would be found He wrldly looked around and hrs eyes wrdened He dragged Bart ley over lrfted the lrd and horsted hrm rnto the rncrnera tor The sour stench of cafeterra garbage permeated and prerced hrs nostrrls as he closed the lrd Howdy' lack spun wrldly around hrs eyes wrde and hrs face drawn trght and tense The speaker was an old grubby ranrtor lack wondered rf he saw anythrng I was uh just dumprng some old papers rn here jack stammered They burn trash after school everyday don tthey? he asked hopefully jack trred to be casual h how long were you standrng behrnd me? Oh I just came outta the door as you shut the lrd jack srghed relrefto hrmself Why don tl go ahead and lrght rt eh? lack nervously blurted Sure Why not? lack s tremblrng frngers frnally struck a match and dropped rt rn Smoke started out of the chrmney and the strnkrng odor frltered through the arr jack started to eave Hey Mrster come here lack swallowed hard and turned slowly to the gray faced old man The srlence was makrng lack sweat Frnal ly theranrtor spoke I don t blame ya I never lrked the old baldy erther commented the old man jack s mouth dropped open The man walked over and put hrs gnarled hand on lack s shoulder Ya drd a good rob krd He trred to frre me jack dully stated The old man grrnned toothlessly I guess you could say you frred hrm eh? lack smrled and started laughrng Yeah he proclarmed vrctorrously They both started laughrng and walked away arm rn arm buddy style therr rnsane laughter reverberatrng through the halls of the empty school Ken Gushard ,, . ,, . . . . 1 1 O C - - ,, . , . . 1 . . . . ,, . . . 1 - 1 ' 1 1 . - - 1 - . , 1 . 1 1 , H . . . . . ll - I - . . . - 1 1 I . - . . - 1 - 1 1 1 1 ' ' . . . , H , , . . . - 1 - - . ,, . . - ' ' 1 - 1 f ' ' ll - 1 ll ' s I 1 T Il ' ll - - 1 - - ' ' 1 1 ' . , . . . - . , 1 - 1 1 H H . . . . n , n ' II ll ll ll 1 1 Il ll ' ' ' ' ' , . , . , . - . . . . 11 ' ' I ..... , .... - - II ll 1 I ' . . . , . . 1 11 I , . . Il ' fl . . , Yeah. About now, rn fact. ,, . ,, . . HU - - ll I , I . . . 1 - ll - ' If . , - I . . . 11 1 - - ll 1 1 ' I ' 1, - . ,, ll Il I ' 1 1 ' ' ' ' I , . . . ll 1 ' ' ll - ' ' ' I 1 1 - ' ' ll - ' Il - ' ' ' ' 1 - 1 ' ' ,, , . ,, Il - ll . 1 1 ' , . H , , I I . . . - 1 ' ' - 11 X . . . ' - 1 - . 1 ' 1, . . ,, , . ll 1 - - ll 1 1 - ' ' 1 I . I ll 1 - ll ' ' . , ' - , - H 1, . ll ' ' ' ll , . II ' ' ll . 1 - Il ll - ll 1 ' 1 . . ' . ,, 1, - - Il , . 1 - ll ll ll ' ll ' ' , . . . 1 ' ' ' ll ll ' ' ' 1 I ' H ll ' -' - . I . - 1 ' 1 ' 1 ' ' 76

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In the delicate prisms of a teardrop exists the cold intenseness of a miniature world whose rigid door aches to be unlatched Karen Tilley mul 'ws No One L1stened I stood up to say a word No one listened No one heard People were too busy with their troubles you see To take time out for a word from me Sol thought I d say my word once more But people got up to close their door Sol went elsewhere to say my word Still no one listened No one heard But I didn t give up so easily My word s importance was known by me But people just looked and then told me No Until I ran out of places to go So I stopped and said my word to me So one could listen One could see I thought I was the only one that heard Me and perhaps some lonely bird My word was heard by a snow white dove And you who repeated my word Love joe Lotz Phaethon Things you say and things you do. The way you are and the way you were confuse me Thea Burch Crystalized ice falls each one with its own pattern melts against my mind Melinda Robbins HEAVEN LY FATHER Heavenly Father we the Taylor family ask excuse me but they re about to kick off Mr Taylor jumped from the table sending the contents of the fragile wine glasses in a frenzy Why dont you finish up for me johnny? We ask your blessing on the turkey Amen johnny s plea for a blessed turkey was met with a disapproving kick from his sister s very big feet Pass the turkey Tracey just wait I m not done with it Well Im not gonna wait till you ve devoured the whole thing Mom pleaded Tracey Be nice to your sister Mike Mike sulked behind a dish of cranberry sauce as a green bean flew from johnny s plate into his mashed po tatoes Mom there s a green bean in my potatoes Well eatit But I didn t put it there Who put the green bean in Mike s potatoes? Tracey? Tracey shook her jaws bulging with yams defensively johnny? I refuse to answer on the grounds of self incrimina tion johnny don tput green beans in Mike s potatoes The dog peed in Mike s room last night and he didnt clean it up Mike you d better clean it up after dinner Why do I have to clean up after the dog? It s johnny s dog If he d let it out before bedtime he wouldnt have wet Mike fell into tears his world shot down by john ny s dog Goto your room Mike until you can stop crying johnny snickered triumphantly Well it is your dog johnny Maybe you should clean up after it Shit mother he plays with him too johnny' I ll have no such language at this table I learned it from Tracey defended johnny That doesn t matter You should know better Little angel Tracey never does anything wrong Let herjust sit there and stuff her face Fatso' Tracey glared wickedly at johnny Mom make hm' take it back Tell your sister sorry johnny Sorry apologized johnny rather reluctantly Mrs Taylor just closed her ears to Tracey s Make him say it right mom Heavenly Father Sharon Deatherage 1 ll ' 1 1 1 - ' 11 ' , . . 1 - II 1 - - - 1 ll . . ll ' ll 1 ' 1. 1. 1 . . . , . ll If , . 0 Il - 1 ' ' ll , . ll 1 ' - 1 1 - II ll ll , . . II - - - 11 . 1 - . 1 ' ' , , ll 1 ' 11 l . , . , ll ' ll 1 ' ' , ll - 1 - ll ' , ll - ' 1 ll n u F I I I , , Il ll I H -. . . - . , . , , ' ll 1 - ' , ll 1 ' ' 1 ll . I ' , II .ll H , . , j , I , 1 . - ll , ll ' 1 ' - ll . ' ' I Il 1 1 , 1 - ' 1 - 1 ,, . . i . - . , ' ' 1 I ' , I ll ' ' ' ll 1 1 ' 11 ll , , 1 ' , . . . H ' ' 1 1 - - ll II - - - Il 1 1 - ll 1 - ll ll ' If ll 1 ll ll ' ' - - 11 . ,, . . , ' ' If ll - ll , . ll ll ' , . ' f ll ' ll F - - ll I I I I l 1 1