Philadelphia Conservatory of Music - Variations Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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This worfhy was a Lillipuf wifh illusions of grandeur. He had a sfriking resemblance fo some of fhe picfures one sees in Darwin's Origin of Species. His iudgmenf on whefher a refugee should or should nof gef a pass was errafic and irrafional, and fhe poor people lined up auf- side his office quaked in agonies of suspense and apprehension. Being so small himself he disliked big men and rare was fhe occasion when a husky fellow gof his pass fo fhe cify. More fhan fhaf, whenever a big man enfered his sancfum, Goya used fo scramble up on a chair from which heighf he proceeded fo slap fhe man and scream in a sorf of ecsfafic frenzy, See, now I am as big as you, as big as you, I fell youl Such cases wifh variafions were numerous. You should have been wifh us fhere on VJ Day. All fhe feelings in people fhaf were penf up and repressed for so long were given venf and fhe cify was one hurling mass of gay and mofley crowds who iosfled, shoufed, laughed and cried all af fhe same fime. Chinese, as you may know, are very parfial fo firecrackers and on fhose days every minufe was puncfuafed wifh one. When fhe G. l.'s and fhe sailors arrived, we fhink fhaf no ofher cify was more hospifable fhan Shanghai. Almosf all fhe barbershops and beaufy parlors were furned info bars and drinking saloons overnighf in order fo accommodafe fhe fhirsfy heroes. H' is of no imporfance lor is if?l fhaf fhe owners of same made some very sizeable profifs as fhe American currency changed sides and fhaf a few soldiers and sailors died of poisoning as a resulf of drinking vodka fhaf was mixed largely wifh mefhyl-achohol. Such was Shanghai. If fime would allow fhere are many more pi- quanf fales of fhaf cify fhaf could be fold, buf fhere is a cerfain harmony homework fhaf has fo be done for Miss Grube . . . Alas! ROSE SCHIFFMAN and MARK TUKACHINSKY

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Of lafe we were subiecf fo consfanf affenfion from a group of very defermined individuals who seemed fo endow us wifh bofh fhe loquacify and experience of Ulysses in his fravels and clamoured very persisfenfly for a discourse, eifher verbal or wriffen, on Chinese music fwe hail from China, you seel. However, aparf from fhe facf fhaf while in China and fhaf was a long while, we had fhe good forfune or ofherwise, fo hear fhe same screeching pandemonium every day lfhis wifh no disrespecf fo fhe Chinese musicians who, fo give fhem credif, were very zealous in fheir performancel, we know hardly anyfhing of fhe fechnical aspecfs of Chinese music. lnsfead, here follows, wifh apologies, a rafher irrele- vanf collecfion of our experiences in Shanghai which we hope mighf inferesf some readers. The cify does nof represenf China, being a regular hodge-podge of all nafionalifies, and is very cosmopolifan and modern in parfs. Before fhe war if consisfed of a French concession, a nice residenfial disfricf, fhe lnfernafional Sefflemenf mder fhe combined confrol of fhe Brifish, fhe Americans and fhe Chinese, and fhe Chinese suburbs lvasf in area and populafion.l However, fhere is one facfor alcin fo all China and very noficeably presenf in Shanghai, and fhaf is fhe variefy of smells lfhose fhaf do nof soofhe one.l This made ifself felf especially in summer when one was confronfed by a differenf smell on every sfreef. Variefy is fruly fhe SPICE of life. During fhe war and fhe Japanese occupafion, all fhe European refugees were segregafed in a cerfain area called fhe Honglcew. This, incidenfally, did nof apply fo us. There, in fhaf Jewish gheffo, fhe hapless refugees lived in ferrible condifions. Moreover, fhey were cuf off from fhe resf of fhe cify where, since fheir flighf from Europe, 'rhey managed fo esfablish connecfions and enferprises which provided for fhem fheir daily susfenance. ln order fo leave fhaf area and commufe fo fhe cify, one had fo apply for a pass, and fhe man who issued fhese was a cerfain Japanese by fhe name of Goya.

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OU, You are The one person in The world from whom you can never geT away. Day or nighT, awake or asleep, well or sick, in youTh or in old age, so long as you live, you can never escape for even a second from yourself. Now, if you had To pick ouT some one person wiTh whom you were To spend The resT of your life, woudn'T you be mosT careful in your choice? Wouldn'T you wanT ThaT person To wear well? To have The sferling qualifies of a fine characfer? To possess a keen inTellecT, a well- sTored mind, and a lively inTeresT in everyfhing under God's Heaven? Of course you would! For you know ThaT life wiTh such a person would be sTimulaTing. Since you musT bear your own company all your life, wouldn'T iT be an infelligenf move To make yourself as inferesfing a person as pos- sible? Now To be such a person requires deferminafion only. You musT be genuinely inTeresTed in persons and Things. Awaken in your youTh To The possibilifies of your surroundings. Firsf, Take an inTeresT in NaTure. Walk ouT in The counTry, Through fields and woods, during all seasons of The year. Observe and Think. In Spring waTch The miracle of budding Trees and of unfolding flowers: lisfen To The song of The reTurning birds: and savor The smell of The damp rich earTh. ln Summer follow The inTense acTiviTy of all growing Things of all The creeping, crawling, leaping, flying denizens of field and foresT. In AuTumn noTe The calm, mellow mood of NaTure who, having accom- plished her appoinTed work, resTs conTenTedly for a liTTle space before her long winfer sleep. How like The cycle of our human life wiTh ifs birTh, maTuriTy, old age, and Thaf long sleep we call DeaTh! Second, Take an inTeresT in humaniTy. The ouTward manifesfafions- appearance, speech, acfions-reveal The menTal, moral, educafional, and social background. Unconsciously Through These oufward marks every individual labels himself for all The world To read. lnTerpreT These signs correcfly, and you can iudge more accurafely. For much of your happiness and success in life hinges upon your abilify To size up indi- viduals and handle Them accordingly.