Polytechnic High School - Caerulea Yearbook (Long Beach, CA)

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16 CAERULEA '25 IIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllHlllllHllllllllllllllIIIllIHIllIIlIIlllllllIlllIlIllllllIIIlIIIllIllllIlIIllIIIIIllllIllIIllIlIIIlIllllIllllIlIlllIIIIlIlllllIIHIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllli girls sometimes dol. We scuffled for the pencil for about ten minutes, finally stopping when the pencil broke and we each retained a part. The question is, Why did we both want that pencil? It wasn't worth a nickel. I have finally decided that it was not the pencil that I wanted, but rather I wanted to struggle with the girl. I liked to scuffle with her. But when I try to determine what the girl wanted, I am hopelessly be' wildered: Did she want the pencil, or did she too like to wrestle for it? Gee! Girls are hard to understand. How does a girl feel when she comes to school for the first time with paint and powder on her face? Does she experience any feeling akin to that which a boy feels when he appears for the first time in public in long pants? Does a girl put on the first bit of lipstick or paint in secret, just as the boy steals away for his first shave? These questions are most puzzling! When a girl starts to curl her hair, to curve her fingers gently, and to half close her eyes when she smiles so that the Boy will notice her, does she have the same emotions that a boy has when he first begins to be particf ular about his clothes and the appearance of his hair and hands so that She will notice him? I was standing beside an old man one day when a flapper passed us. She was richly dressed but well exposed, she walked with a kind of loping sway which is popular with some women. The old man looked up at me quizzically and drawled, Well, I don't know, but it seems to me that there's an awful lot of lost motion there! And he pulled his nose and chuckled while I laughed outright. I believe that I had better stop thinking about girls, for the more I ponder about them, the less I am sure that I know. There is always some new question. ,lust now the thought occurred to me, Is that peculiar, asfyetfunfnamedfmotion fwobble, boys call itj of the hips that some girls affect in any way related to a boyish swagger?', Are boys and girls alike in any way? I wonder and I laugh. N

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ll-1 IRLS! That is certainly a difficult subject for a boy to handle-I mean write about. I really should have chosen some other subject because I can't understand girls at all. QI sometimes think that they can't understand themselves., If I had chosen to write about boys, for instance, I should have an easier time of it. I am a boy myself, and I can study myself and other boys without embarrassment, but when I try to study girls-whew! Why, just writing about them makes my pen stutter with embarrassment. Supf pose I see a girl doing something that interests me, and I watch her. just as my stare becomes most intent, she seems to realize that someone is watch' ing her and looks straight at me and catches me staring at her. Most disconcerting! I feel the blood surge toward my head, my collar shrinks amazingly, and I experience that familiar, choky contraction of the throat that makes speech impossible. And what does the girl do? She smiles, or laughs, or sniffs, wriggles her nose, and turns disdainfully away. If she turns away, I am greatly relieved, but if she smiles, I am more embarrassed than ever. When I read about girls' Miner natures , 'Lshyness , frailty , QDid a girl ever slap you?j delicate sense of humor , romantic spirit , thoughtless coquetryv, QI always confuse that word with the words mean' ing onefneedle knitting or ish cakesl and their other fine attributes, I am overwhelmed. I am puzzled by countless questions. I recall an incident which occurred when I was a freshman at high school. A number of us had been rehearsing an operetta after school hours. Just as we were about to leave, I swiped a girl's pencil fas boys sometimes doj, and she immediately began to struggle to get it back Cas 4

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IIIIIII II IIIII II III I I I I III! I ll IIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIISIZ AMERICANISM E are Americans! It means a great deal to be an American. There are privileges, duties, rights, and responsibilities in Americanism. From the time the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, our nation has been a nation of progress, justice, and charity. Though there may be some blots on its record, looking back over the history of our country, we find very many things to be proud of which America and Americans have done. When we read of the times America has helped a smaller country in distress or sent food and clothing to a destitute people, we are glad that America is our country. When we think of the community hospitals, the organizations for the assistance of needy persons, the homes for the orphaned and the aged that Americans have founded, we are proud again to be Americans. Our police and fire protection, our opportunities for education, our lighted streets, civic buildings, parks, and greatest of all, the right to a part in choosing our rulers and making our laws are privileges which in some other countries we should not enjoy. Yet, how seldom we think of these things if we think of them at all. How much do we under' stand about the wonderful machine which is our government? How many of us knew anything about the candidates in the last presidential election? Some of us probably do not know even our national anthem. Soon we shall be voters! Do we ever think that every privilege brings a responsibility? Do we remember that soon all the burdens of the government will rest on us and that we must be prepared to keep our nation one of which our descendants may be proud as we have taken pride in it? Each one of us must do his part to keep our nation the best on earth, for, as Kipling said: It ain't the individual Nor the army as a whole, But the everlasting teamfwork Of every bloomin' soul. Have we prepared for it by doing our part in high school? Did we take part in any school activities? Were we at games, and debates, and did we attend assemblies, concerts, and plays given by the studentfbody? When there was a call to assist in some way, did we answer it? Did we vote-and vote for a competent candidate? Have we obeyed school rules? Were we careful not to destroy or deface school property? And, most important of all, did we do our very best to make ourselves 'worthy American citizens? To be a strong, progressive nation America must have loyal, responsible citizens. Our Americanism can best find expression in sion in doing our best to become such citizens.-Helen Webster