Midwood High School - Epilog Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 14 text:

0 GIG Two proud looking creafures sfruffed fowards us, sporfing sfrange hafs of deep blue, which radiafed a glow suggesfing fhaf They Knew Whaf They Wanfed. As fhey came info view fhey began fo fake fhe shape of human beings. We asked fhem who fhey were and in unison fhey sang ouf, Why, we're SENlORSl Our discussion was abrupfly curfailed by a man who came sfomping down fhe hall, and who, placing a firm hand on fhe shoulders of our fwo newly made friends, grunfed, Ya know dai you people have commiffed a major misdemeanor? Comin' lafe fo class can end you all up in 'An American Tragedyl' Our friends scuffled off fo fheir classes, buf, alas and alack, fhe firsf period had iusf ended and everybody was saunfering info home-room. The excessive buzz of acfivify faking place in fhese home-rooms served fo show us fhaf a senior lives in An Age Of ANXlETY. There was a maze of clashing ac- fivify being conducfed af fhe same fimeg we had fo vofe for Senior Celebs, decide which hall should be honored wifh our presence on prom nife, fill our senior acfivify cards, look af everybody's picfures from beloved Will-Arf , and do fhree S.S. lessons and 'rwo mafh assignmenfs. To fop if all off, our Presidenf, wifh a lean and hungry look, began fhe collecfion of Senior dues. Only fhe Senior knows For Whom fhe Bell Tolls. lf folls for him. lf is af fhis fime fhaf he loses his idenfify and assumes fhe role of all fhe ofher milling midkids, mainfaining, however, his unending feeling of imporfance as a SENIOR. lf is now fhaf he connives and ufilizes his painfully acquired fricks of fhe frade, a genuine mark of his sophisficafion. One of fhese facfics is fhe using of one book cover for all his classes. This is nof a miserly acf on his parf, buf rafher an inevifable one affer he has been drained of all available funds-fhe price he pays for being a Senior. Despife fhis penniless condifion he manages fo scrimp and save for exceedingly imporfanf invesfmenfs such as ponies, midferms and English franslafions of fhe foreign language novels such as El Capifan Venemo or Tarfarin de Tarascon. Who else buf a Senior would have enough presence of mind fo read a paragraph from fhe Encyclopedia Briffanica in place of wading fhrough fhe assigned five hun- dred page novel abouf Shakespeare? Who would have fhe infelligence fo look in Tru

Page 13 text:

iis name. Affer fhaf announcemenf, iackefs, keys and pins fhaf hadn'f been worn for monihs appeared in school. lSons of liberfy, arisell We were proud of a lol of fhings abouf our school. One, above ofhers, was fhe annual presenfafion of fhe FDR Memorial Award. We gof fo see and hear some famous and inspiring people. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelf came fo Midwood, and The en- rire A.M. session waifed for an hour in ihe hoi sun iusf fo see her car drive up. Some of us also gof fo hear her unforgeffable speech. Jackie Robinson came also. Dr. Ralph Bunche couldn'+ make if buf 'lhe rules were changed so fhaf he could receive fhe award which ihe siudenfs had vofed him. The award, and whaf if meanf, was fhe subiecf of an ediforial in a college newspaper. The wrifers were very impressed by 'rhe facf fhaf Jusfice William Douglas had come in second in one elecfion. They felf fhaf many adulfs wouldn'+ even know who he was. We poinfed wifh pride fo fhe ediforial and realized fhaf our small efforfs fo promofe FDR's ideals had nof gone unnoficed. School wasn'i always serious. There were lighfer momenis when weird and s+ar+ling fads and fashion dominafed our every hour. Things fhaf were real George when we were sophs became crazy, man as we became Seniors. The girls wenf rhrough various animal stages, wifh poodles, ponyiails, and duckfails walking fhe halls. The boys adopfed fhe collegiafe look wifh while bucks, grey flannels, and crew cufs. The girls did 'lhem one beffer wifh brighl knee socks. Then kniifing became 'fhe fifih maior on many a girl's program as she walked around wifh a pair of unfinished argyles dangling from one hand and everyfhing else balanced in ihe ofher. Slacks became an issue, and 'ihe waking fhoughf of some girls became, ls if snowing hard enough fo- day? ln The midsf of our sfay, Midwood celebrafed a birfhday. Our school was now 'ren years old. Anniversary buffons were sold and one of us made fhe discovery fhaf from far enough away fhey acfually looked like Senior pins. We laughed af rhings we didn'+ remember, and roared af fhose we did when ihe anniversary skifs were given. The PTA candy counfer opened, wifh all proceeds going fo fhe Scholarship Fund. Many a dief losf lo fhe angumenf fhaf fhe money was for a good cause. Wilh world fension mounfing, we began 'fo have aiom bomb drills. Some were orderly' affairs wifh everyone marchingainforfhe hall and remaining ihere unfil a given signal. Ofhers were more fun. Someonevwould call flash over fhe PA sysfem and everyone would dive under his desk lieacher includedl. Glasses were broken, heads banged, and knees scraped in fhe shuffles. ' Then we were Seniors lalways wifh a capifal leHeri. This was whaf we had been waifing for buf suddenly fhe fufure looked dim. Things we'd never heard of like col- lege boards, and college inferviews, and senior recommendalions, and coaching ifor a very reasonable pricei, appeared ouf of nowhere and loomed before us. We realized fhaf we didn'f know how 'fo walk, falk, dress, or fake exams. There were serious 'lhings fo be done, we were now deciding our fufures. We chose our college, hoping +hey'd choose us. Or we asked abouf iob prospecis. Now we leave, a smaller and closer group fhan The one ihaf enfered so long ago. The 'lime has gone foo quickly. We share hundreds of common memories and experi- ences. Now we leave, buf we have each leff some parf of us here. We are older, wiser, and able fo face fhe fulure wifh confidence. Carole Lewis Nim' , i B 20l

Page 15 text:

ihe back of fhe frig or algebra bool: fo find fhe answers? Who else would have 'the daring +o hand in his older bro'fher's physics nofe- boolr af collec+ion +ime7 Or io do fhe crossword puzzle behind his chem book? None, of course, buf fhe Senior. For he has forgoffen abou? nine+y's and ninefy-nine's and is now only concerned wifh avoiding The Scarlei LeHer. As ihey bide rheir lime, wailing for Their Finesf Hour, 'Phe Seniors' day is an effervesceni one, full of fhe fun and laughfer +l'l6i' marlrs +heir 'ferm as The Celesfial Seniors. Harrie? Cohen Sue Shapiro Xf- .msg-Z-,.4:ggX 5 I l -,ai 20