Pershing Middle School - Reflections Yearbook (San Diego, CA)

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IIEarl, you naughty b0y,II I scolded, IIdonIt you know you shoulant be cruel to animals ?II IIVVhat do I care?I answered Earl, Who cared about nothing but mischief. II 111 going to make Mrs. Hughes Chase me down the street with a broom.II IIKitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, called Mrs. Hughes, come right home to dinner.II Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, your Grandma wants you to come right home to dinner,II teased Earl. Earl, you re the cruelest, naughtiest boy IIve ever seen,I Iscolded Mrs. Hughes as she caught a glimpse of EarlI s red hair through the fence. IIYou just Wait, that beautiful red hair of yours won It look so nice when I get hold of you, II called Mrs. Hughes as she came running out of the back door with a coal shovel in her hand. Down the tree went the cat and over the fence went Tige and Earl, and after them all Mrs. Hughes came with the coal shovel. Down the street went the procession, cat, dog, Earl and Mrs. Hughes. People came into the street to see what was the matter. Men stopped on their way home from dinner to see the procession. Faster and faster ran the cat and louder and louder the dog barked. Still Earl ran on. II 11 get that boy if I have to run clear to New York, II uttered Mrs. Hughes with a sigh. IIOh, I m so tired, so tired I just canIt hardly walk,II said Mrs. Hughes to one of her neighbors on her way back home after she had given up all hopes of catching Earl. Some time afterwards Earl came home tired and exhausted. IIMa, we chased that old cat clear up on the Heights and it fell into the river, but we fished it out,IIEar1 explained to his mother as he met his mother in the pantry. IIAnd hereI s the coal shovel that Mrs. Hughes was going to chastise me with. II IIEarl, you must go apologize to Mrs. Hughes.II IIAw, Ma, I donIt want to,II answered Earl as he cut himself a large piece of cake. IIMy, that run made me hungry.II aHelen McCabe, I24 The Pleasures of Theme Writing SAT at my desk in school one day and heard our honorable teacher assign I the subject, The Pleasures of Theme Writing,II as a topic. Poor Fresh- men! Poor teacher! Alas, the pleasures of theme writing! Many a time and oft, toh, those favorite words of Shakespearel I have sat and scratched my noble head and thought and thought and thought. Then again come some of ShakespeareI s words, You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things. 'II Whoever had the inspiring inspiration of theme writing? You hard hearts, you cruel men of talent, knew you not that the coming generation would suffer from your wonderful brains? Oh, the Ides of March, the Ides of April, May, June, and of all the other months, do you not pity us, the poor proliters of Shakespeare and others, as we meet your smiling faces with frowns upon our own over the same old cause, theme writing, each year as you make your appearance? Each year we pray upon our bended knees for an English teacher who has not the cruel craving in her system for themes. Then each time we utter as ..51I

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An Expected Punishment Y BROTHER was going to school. I also wanted to go but mother M said I was too small. Iteased and teased, however, and she finally said I could go and Visit one day. My, how happy I was to go to school! Even if it was only for a one- day Visit, that was better than nothing. I could scarcely wait for the day. But time is bound to pass and finally the day arrived. I set out feeling very important and walked beside my brother into the school house and tried to think I was just as important as any of them, but after a while I didnlt feel so proud. It seemed like everyone was looking at me just as much as to say, Ho, Ho, see whols here. It was not nearly as nice as I had expected. At last the bell rang and everybody came into the school house and took their places. Then the teacher called the first grade and told them to march up to the front of the room and as she pointed to the different words and sounds on the charts for them to name them. I marched up with my brother and stood beside him. Soon the teacher noticed that some of the children were not saying the words so she called out sharply, All who do not say these sounds as I point them out Will have to take their medicine? Now I knew what medicine meant, or rather I thought I did. In the way the teacher used it, she meant punishment, but to me it meant horrid stuff like castor oil and pills. How frightened I was! I couldnlt say the sounds, having never gone to school. I had terrible Visions of that teacher swooping down on poor little me with a great big bottle of medicineb and a spoon. My heart began to flutter and I trembled all over while I looked at that horrid teacher, hardly knowing what to do. To have to take awful medicine, and perhaps right before the whole school, and have them laugh at me! Oh dear! I wanted to cry and run, and above all to get away from that school business. I donlt know how I ever got through the rest of the day. Perhaps she was going to wait until the very last thing. Keep me in misery all day! Dear me, school was a bad dream. How glad I was to be at home safe and sound. a was surely puzzled about the mediciney -Blanche Whitson, ,24. Neighbors Will Quarrel ARL SAT on the back steps deeply interested in a book. An old dog lay by his side and wagged his tail occasionally to disturb a fly or mosquito. llThis sunls too hot! exclaimed Earl. le going to seek the shade. Come on, Tige, lets go? Off they went, down the walk that led to the old maple tree in the back yard. I had been reading in an old swing under the maple tree but had fallen asleep and my book lay on the ground when Earl arrived. Come on, lets have some fun? called Earl as he closed the gate. This sudden exclamation disturbed my peaceful slumber and I sat up and rubbed my eyes dreamily. llSic, ,em! Sid lemlll encouraged Earl, and Tige chased an old cat that belonged to one of our neighbors up a tree next to the one under which I was sitting. m50m

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Caesar did, llEt, tu, most honorable teacher ?it and fall prostrate, only to dwell in the suburbs of her good pleasures because of theme writing. And now, oh pardon me, thou honorable English teachers, that I am not meek and gentle with these men of torture! We are the ruins of such men as these that have lived in days gone by. We butcher their works, we mutilate them, we meekly abide by them. Come, poor remains of fellow students, rest on this hope, when your theme is written and the pleasures of it' are ended, rest on the hope that soon, oh soon, comes the inevitable end of our pleasure, forever. But yet, fellow scholars, 0 yet hold up your heads. eRuth Brown, ,23. Beware of Your Head H V, shouted Will as a great big turnip hit him square on the nose. 0 You will, will youfl he cried ruthlesslys tearing a carrot from the ground, tTll show you something, you cross-eyed, pigeon-toede Bang! Came another turnip, this time hitting him in the stomach. His fighting blood was up. tlThought you were going to show me something, smartyf, jeered George. He bent to pick up some more clods and vegetables, but dodged as he saw Will throw a rock. But it hit him, and right on the toe he had stubbed! He howled and hopped around in pain, holding the injured toe with his hands. Stooping suddenly he picked up a rock and hurled it with all his might. Just then the garden gate opened, and in walked grandfather. Down came the rock on his head! The two boys were so startled that they had no time to run. Grandfather with his hat off and scratching his head, surveyed the boys With surprise, Pointing to the delapidated garden he demanded sternly, Who did this ?,l They both stared miserably at one another. George finally stuttered, liW-we dedid it. But please dont tell mamma about itf, he cried, running to his grandfather with tears in his eyes. ilWe really didn,t mean to do it? Will followed at his heels. llHonest, Itll give you this if you wont? and he manfully pulled the cause i of all the trouble out of his pocket, a grimy, dirty all day sucker. Grandfather solemnly took it and deposited it in his pocket with a twinkle in his eyes neither of them saw. Well, suppose we begin to clean up? he said at length. Soon the garden began to look like its own self. That night George and Will wiped the dishes and fetched the wood with- out a murmur. They were so occupied With their thoughts and fears that they did not notice the glances passed between their grandfather and mother. Whether she ever missed any of her vegtables or not they did not know but they always thought their secret was safe with grandfather. eEdith Mackie, i24.