Miss Halls School - Hallmark Yearbook (Pittsfield, MA)

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accenf +ha+ she had learned from her boarding school roommafe. She paffed her forehead wifh a delicafe handkerchief. Your husband making you do fhis? pursued fhe spokesman of fhe group. Secrefly flaffered by his fhinking fhaf she was married. No, my fafher says l musf. This fopic of conversafion being exhausfed, fhe second of fhe group. a slighf. buggy-whip of a man glanced around and said. Nice place you gof here. Think if's big enough? Unprepared for fhis one buf recovering herself. Phoebe smiled. lf's really nof as big as if looks from fhe oufside. The rooms are iusf like posfage sfamps. The momenf seemed now fo have come fo suggesf graciously fhaf perhaps fhey would like some nice cold fea. The fhird man, somewhaf older. fhoughf if a swell idea and fhe ofhers nodded in fhirsfy agreemenf. Phoebe fripped off gracefully fowards fhe house. Firsf refreshing herself wifh several squirfs from an afomizer of Chanel No. 22. she gof iced fea from fhe kifchen. and arranged a fray wifh individual doilies and small English fea biscuifs. Tray in hand. ice clinking in crysfal glasses, she sef forfh wifh fhe second parf of her plan. The men. resfing under fhe frees. leaped up, reached for fhe frosfy glasses. and grafefully gulped down fhe cold fea. Phoebe. wifh her crinoline preffily encircling her as she saf on fhe grass, sipped her drink demurely and occasionally nibbled a 'rea biscuif. You go fo school? asked fhe young, good-looking one as he chomped on a cookie. Oh yes, l go away fo school! lfoo enfhusiasfically. she decided, for fhere was a definife silencel. Ain+ fhe high school good enough for you? snapped fhe buggy-whip. Unruffled, Phoebe smiled sweefly. looked sfraighf info his suspicious eyes. and drawled, l'm a liffle slow. you see. Now fhey beamed wifh masculine superiorify and fhe conversafion boomed along as fhey relafed fo Phoebe sfories of fhe Army. of labor froubles. and of women problems. Coolly enjoying herself, she almosl' forgof fhal' she was nof accomplishing her purpose. Wifh a huge sigh Phoebe announced fhaf she musf be gefiing back fo her work. Her brawny friends leaped fo fheir feef. Buf of course fhey would rake fhe gravel for her. Heavens, no! demurred Phoebe coyly buf firmly. Buf liffle by liffle her re- sisfance crumpled, in an endearing way-as she had so carefully planned. Compla- cenfly siffing under fhe frees, idly waving her Chinese fan, Phoebe wafched 'rhem work. Occasionally she would frip info fhe kifchen and appear again wifh Coca-cola fo replenish fheir glasses. The iob was quickly finished. buf before Mario Genivesi. Joe Marciano. and Tony Zambella refurned fo work for The Town of Bedford. fhey had exchanged wifh Phoebe vows of cordial friendship. Phoebe changed her organdy for comforfable blue jeans, spread her beaufy implemenfs on a blankef in fhe shade. and saf down fo awaif fhe refurn of her mofher. The driveway was smoofh and beaufiful and glisfening in fhe sun. When Mrs. Ash- burn refurned, Phoebe was indusfriously polishing her nails. Why, dar-ling, how marvelous! Did you clo fhaf dreamy iob all by yourself- and so quickly? ' Phoebe smiled sweefly. You know, if I really make up my mind fo if. l can do almosf anyfhing . And she wenf righf on polishing her nails. Dail Cameron. l955 Page 25

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NEVER UNDERESTIMATE lT seemed To Phoebe ThaT every Time she sTarTed The family car in The drive- way. iT sTalled. When she resTarTed The obsTinaTe liTTle English Ford, iT spurfed ahead so fasf ThaT iT ineviTably lefT The driveway bare and The lawn Thick wiTh gravel. This performance confinued all summer unTil iusT- a week before The annual gravel supply arrived. Then The problem was broughT up before The Board.-ThaT is. Phoebe's parenTs, Mr. and Mrs. Ashburn: her grandmoTher: her younger sisTer: and her broTher. The decision was unanimous. lnsTead of a man's being hired To rake The gravel, Phoebe should do iT, simply because she had scraped The driveway bare by her own care- lessness. ln spiTe of her horrified PLEASEl and l won'T do iT again! The verdicf remained unchanged. A On The faTeful day Phoebe was awakened by whaT sounded like Niagara Falls oufside her bedroom window. 'lT's only The gravel men, dear, shoufed her moTher above The din. During breakfasT a small. round man clad in khaki Trousers and Marlon Brando undershirT appeared in The door, already red-faced from The early morning heaT, and announced, PuT The gravel in small piles on The place so's your man won'T have no Trouble puTTin' iT around. Sure is goin' To be a scorcher. 'Bye now. Your MAN. ThoughT Phoebe darkly as she eyed The ominous piles of gravel on The driveway. I'll be over aT The pool This afTernoon, dear. lT's really much Too hoT for golf. Call me, if you need me, won'T you? announced Mrs. Ashburn, cool and smarT in pale green linen. as she benT over for her daughTer's obedienf kiss. Phoebe gazed enviously from The window as her moTher drove off in The low green converTible. Slowly she finished her coffee. and slowly washed and puT away her breakfasf dishes. NoT even boThering To read The socieTy page of The morning paper. she puT on her heaviesT woolen clofhes and her dirTy sneakers. MighT as well lose a liTTle weighT ouT of This deal. she ThoughT glumly. Ten minuTes laTer she emerged in The 98' heaT aTTired in longies. sweaT shirT. ski sweafer, Andover scarf. and Brooks haT. under which were Tucked rows of pin curls. I hope no one sees me doing This crude iob. she ThoughT miserably. Probably no one would recognize her anyway. BuT iT was iusT The humiliaTion of iT! AT The dance aT The counTry club Tonighf she could iusf imagine iT. No one would dance wiTh Phoebe-all covered wiTh blisTers. Grimly she grasped The hoe and began To rake. She could already feel The blisTers forming on her hands and see herself The nexT morning benT like a paper-clip. wiTh sTiff muscles. Only a few minuTes and several half-hearfed hoe-ings lafer. she heard a car on The high- way sTopping and sTarTing aT inTervals. Running To The gaTe she saw a large Truck. labeled 'Town of Bedford . wiTh Three men walking slowly behind. shoveling sfones inTo The diTch along The side of The road. Poor men, ThoughT Phoebe, working on such a hoT day. MEN! she ThoughT again wiTh a menTal double-Take. Her sympaThy vanishing. she Turned suddenly and ran Toward The house, The Andover scarf Trailing behind. and a wonderful plan Taking shape in her mind. NoT many minuTes laTer a compleTely Transformed Phoebe appeared in The Colonial doorway-a dainTy, feminine figure crisply crinolined in lavender organdy. shod in high-heeled whiTe linen shoes. DelicaTely perfumed, she sTood fanning her- self wiTh a small Chinese fan. preparing for acTion. Walking carefully. she dragged her rake To The gaTe. and deliberaTely drew on her large yellow garden gloves. STand- ing where The workmen could noT help noficing her. she proceeded To spread The gra- vel. The eyes of The good-looking young lTalian bulged noficeably as he hasTily be- gan To pull on his 'RJoe's Bowling Alley T-shirT. l'loT enough for you. girlie? he venTured affably. Yes, iT is raTher warm. isn'T iT? she said. very soTTly, wiTh a slighT souThern Page 27

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NEW YORK CAB DRIVERS Cab drivers compose an imporTanT parT of New York CiTy's popuIaTion. They will never Tail To inTrigue and amuse me. SomeTimes They annoy and oTher Times They fascinaTe me. BuT I always wonder abouT Them - why They have chosen Their profession. and if They are happy. One day abouT Three years ago. I hailed a cab in fronT of my house. I was irrifable. Tired, and lafe for my piano lesson, To which I had no desire To go in The firsT place. A cab drove up, and as I goT in, The driver said in a cheerful Tone of voice. Good afTernoon. Ma'am. IT seemed raTher sTrange'To me ThaT a Taxi driver should be so civil. Living in New York, I had become hardened To Their usual gruff nonchalance. I replied, wiTh a raTher surprised smile. Good afTernoon. and Told him where I was going. The nexT Thing I heard was a compleTe shock. Would you like Tea, coffee. or hoT chocolaTe? Who would expecT To be offered liquid refreshmenf in a New York Taxicab? ForTunaTely I remembered an arTicle in The AMERICAN magazine which I had read a few monThs before. This musT be The man. whose name-since I can'T remember iT-shall be Bill Brown. He had been wriTTen up in This magazine as The mosT courTeous and considerafe cab driver in The ciTy. His refreshmenf sysTem was considered a greaT nerve-sooTher. I asked him. raTher unbelievingly. Are you - THE ONE - in The AMERICAN? Yup, I sure am. he replied, holding up a copy of The AMERICAN magazine opened To The page conTaining The arTicIe abouT him. He smiled, and repeaTed The quesTion he had asked when I firsT goT inTo his cab. Two minuTes laTer. as I saT re- Iaxedly enioying a cup of hoT coffee IwiTh sugar and creaml which had been prepared on a STerno can. I asked whaT had ever prompTed him To sTarT his hoT drink service. He replied ThaT he found ThaT people liked. as he puT iT. To relax in hacks. Ma'am. so why shouIdn'T They have a nice cup of coffee or such while They ride? Also. pas- sengers Iikeza genTeel driver, so why shouldn'T I be ThaT way? Besides. iT's so much easier To be nice Than rude. Ma'am. LisTening To whaT he did noT say, as if reading beTween The lines. I gafhered ThaT he quiTe obviously had discovered ThaT The nicer and more courTeous he was. The larger his Tips would be--an economically sound discovery. We Talked for The remainder of The ride abouT various unimporTanT buT pIeasanT maTTers, and when I goT ouT, having-I mighT add-Tipped him much more Than usual. Bill said, Good-bye. Ma'am. Have a nice day, and God bless you. ThaT remark really resTored my faiTh in human naTure for The day. I have always wished l mighT ride wiTh Bill Brown again, buT I never have. T AnoTher memorable experience I had wiTh a cab driver occurred lasT ChrisT- mas vacaTion. On one of our many cab rides from my home To The BilTmore HoTel, my roommaTe and I realized ThaT There was a melodic sound issuing from The fronT seaT. As The Tune sounded raTher familiar, we asked The driver whaT he was singing. He Turned around. his dark PuerTo Rican face IiT up by an immense grin, and answered. HCONTIGO. You know eeT? I replied ThaT I did as iT was one of my broTher's favorife songs. and asked him please To sing iT To us. He did. By 72nd STreeT, we realized ThaT we had a one-in-a-million driver. By The Time we reached The BilT- more, we had learned ThaT his name was Adrian. ThaT he sang. played The guiTar. and was one Third of a Spanish Treeo. which, I mean-we seeng avery Wednesday nighT on The radeeo. We had somehow acquired a small. raTher grimy card wiTh his name and Telephone number on iT, een case you 'ave a parTy and wanT a Treeo, or a seeng- erI I sTilI have The card. Who knows, some day I may find ThaT I need a Treeo. or a seengerf' Since iT was Then Two days before ChrisTmas, and my roommaTe and I were in a singularly happy frame of mind, we Tipped him one dollar and fiffeen cenTs and wenT Tripping off To The Palm CourT wiTh CONTIGO ringing in our ears. Page 29