Medina High School - Mirror Yearbook (Medina, NY)

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The jlillirrur QAHENIT DREAMS FUNNY? EARL GOLDMAN HE eccentric, self-made millionaire sat gazing moodily into the fire. His brows were lowered, his mouth, pursed up, his left hand tenderly stroked l1is shaven chin, and his feet were stretched straight out in front of him. By these signs we knew what was coming. Soon he would open up with one of those stories which all millionaires are privileged to tell, especially self-made ones, about the time when they were poor, tattered and hungry. We poorer fellows in the elub had to stand those stories. Self-made millionaires can help a struggling man in many Ways. The rich man drew his feet up under him, and he stroked his chin with his right instead of his left hand. It was drawing nearer, we sat tense, expeetaut. ' I say, but dreams are funny things, mused the old millionaire, still gazing into the fire. H Yes? murmured Hlakesly, the corporation attorney. How's that? asked W. Robert Gregory, who had little but his imposing name and a dot-tor's certificate. Let's see, about thirty, no forty years ago I was a poor, hard- working boy, ragged and half-clothed all the time and hungry most of the time, drawled out the old man. He always started that way. By his amused little chuckle and sidelong glance to see how we took his hit of information, I am willing to swear that he thought the opening to be original every blessed time. Not really? l breathed. I had heard it only some fifteen or twenty times. Yes, honestly! Wouldn't think it to look at me now, eh ! and he glanced down 1-omplaceutly at his portly waist line. How interesting, please go on l murmured the lean Mr. Blakesly, a desperate look coming to his eyes. Well, I was about seventeen or eighteen then. But times weren't tl1en as they are 11ow. A young fellow had to work pretty hard for three or four dollars a Week. I had lost my job for sonic reason or other and, falling behind in my rent, I was kicked out. Foot weary from looking for Work, almost broken in heart and spirit, having no relatives or friend, I almost gave up hope. One night after a particularly hard day I lay down in my favorite alley box and, saying a little prayer, curled up and went to sleep. It didn't take any time after I went to sleep before I'd found a job in the shipping department of a wealthy firm, I received fine Wages and a good opportunity for advancement. The 'Boss' noticing my , l l - I 3 Fourteen I ' u.i 'I .. 'F sm I I ..l

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P' The :Hilmar fr Burkbee nodded. Well, he's old Sproul. Mighty fine fellow. I used to work for him. Yeh, I used to be a salesman under him. Yep, he 's fine feller but he has his faults like all of us. He was always so particular about little things. I tell you it don't pay to bother about trifiesg life is too short. What people want to do is get out of the rut and enjoy themselves. Rec-kon that's so, said Burkee yawning. The proprietor turned to a child who had entered with a crock of butter. Picking a fly out of the butter he turned the crock in order to read the mark. It was somewhat blurred. Carefully using a blue pen- cil he changed the figures to a higher quantity. The rocket had at last reached its starting point. wb XX lf . Qs g 1.4511 Thirteen I 1

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-: - be Mirror - fine appearance teven tl1ough I had slept for four nights straight in a boxj and my honest, open faee had given me the job, picking me out from about fifty of my worst enemies. lt didn't take long before the 'Boss' noticing my splendidwork had advanced me to assistant foreman. Now, the foreman of a ship- ping roo111 like ours had to be a man of resource, exceptional intelli- gence, and extraordinary ability to think rapidly, because he had not only to correct the hundred and one daily mistakes, but also to super- vise and control over one hundred foreigners, always ready to 'raise a fuss' or to disobey a 1'ule or an order. As the firm employed hordes of them, great tact was required to keep them in a peaceable mood and to see to it that they did not bungle matters up too much. The boss told me that he had a better place for my present fore- man and just as soon as I showed that I was resourceful enough to be foreman, I could step i11to that position. 'tl was wide-awake for an opportunity to show my resourcefulness, but none 031118. Aside from settling minor disputes my official posi- tion was hum-drum enough. Now, our Boss had a daughter, seven or eight years old, who was allowed to spend considerable time in the faetory. Although the men adored her, she caused a great deal of bother to all the foremen because she was always poking about dangerous maehines a11d belting. In our department her special joy and delight was the old, wooden, creaky, dilapidated elevator. The old thing, although strong, was twisted and hacked and patched and was so slow that we could reach the floor above more quickly than it eouldg but it was just the thing for exceptionally heavy cases and so it was allowed to remain. The 'Kid' always used to get in it and being a clever child had learned how to operate the old elevator, and unnoticed, away she would go up in it before we even knew she was about. But sl1e had the aggravating knack of juggling the levers until she had stalled the mass of wood mid-way between tl1e two floors. And we never knew she was gone until we'd hear her yell to get her down, and it was some job before we eould get the old junk pile down to the first floor or to the second. Hut in spite of everything her old dad, the boss, adored her and we young fellows kind of got to like her ehildish talk too. Well, one day we we1'e packing up a speeial order. Paper and shavings were elnttering up the whole place and we were working like beavers when the girl came in. We were so busy we hardly noticed her, until as usual she had started the old elevator and with exasperat- ing methodiealness she had stalled it, and then started yelling for us to get her out. I heard her and glanced up with a resigned sigh. But any one 75 Nl Fifteen till' 1.