Minnechaug Regional High School - Falcon Yearbook (Wilbraham, MA)

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' ■: ' Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome. - Samuel Johnson (1709- 1784) PV M «?v ' - j •H ■ - T ■ 1 SPpbv AyjEtUQ - ¥gi? N H 1 m B ' T r - . ' H i|i W R, J I f

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WlLtKKAliAM jfUBJLuRj JoJLDXWVi 4 GONNA FLY NOW On December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Or- ville Wright changed the lives of gen- erations to come by flying the first air- plane. With this accomplishment, the two brothers set off a chain reaction of aviation discoveries that is continuing today. As a result, we now live in an ex- tremely mobile society which takes for granted the ability to get literally an- where on earth in a matter of hours. In fact, today ' s world could not function without the quick and efficient trans- portation the airplane provides. Gov- ernments and large businesses de- pend on air travel to keep them close to foreign countries. The people who benefit the most from air travel, however, are the com- mon people like you and me who now have the chance to see and do things that were previously inaccessible. Commercial airlines began in the 1950 ' s starting an age of travel and tourism. Now it only takes five hours to traverse the country and six hours to cross the Atlantic. Within the last decade supersonic transports, commonly known as Con- cordes, the 747, and other jumbo jets have been perfected reducing the travel time between Europe and the U.S. by one-third. The achievements of the past eighty years are undoubtedly more than the wildest dreams of the Wright Brothers, but certainly the future will produce even more sophisticated descendants of Wilbur and Orville ' s original bi-plane. Jim O ' Shaughnessy 812733

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Darkness and the night have always been a subject of mystery and misunder- standing. In ancient times it was believed that evil spirits lurked after sundown; and even now, in the midst of our advanced society, nightime is alien and frightening to most people. Because everything we do is geared toward the use of our eyes, the daytime is the only place we can feel safe and secure. Yet, much of each day is without light. As a result, our modern world has done its best to eliminate darkness completely by illuminating anything possible. For our convenience, everything from doorbells to watches have lighting devices to make their use possible at all hours. With such luxuries most people can manage any- thing they want when they want without ever worrying about a lack of light. Even modem technology can ' t keep us out of the dark completely. When pow- er fails or batteries go dead, something we take for granted becomes an incon- venience for everyone. It makes us realize how helpless we can be. One place we can get a good perspective of our area during this daily period of isolation is on the mountain anywhere in the Wilbraham- Hampden area. This unique geological feature offers a spectacular nighttime view of the entire Pioneer Valley. Spreading under you can be seen twinkling lights from nearby Lud- low to Holyoke on the other side of the valley. Encompassed in your view are thousands of people, most of them sleep- ing. However, there are many who are wide awake. Night-shift workers, insomniacs, people with next-day deadlines to meet, and crying babies with no conception of time, are all a part of the nightime world. So. although it may look peaceful and almost eerily silent from a remote view point, the hours between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. are an active part of many people ' s schedule. Jim O ' Shaughnessy