Scituate High School - Chimes Yearbook (Scituate, MA)

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24 A DECISION Abbie Barnes. ' 42 OR no good reason at all except that he wanted to. Alexander J. Harvey was fitting in his deck, on the steamer Georgene, at three o ' clock in the morning. He claimed that he couldn ' t think clearly when there were a lot of noisy young women around, and there vere plenty on this boat. Accordingly, whenever there was any profound thinking to do on his part, he slept all day and did his thinking in the silence of the night. That particular night A. J. had to t ' link pbo-it two certain young men. one of whom was to b ' ' his successor to the thrivinc;; oil b i in- ps h° h d built up. The only trouble was that he didn ' t know Avhich one to pick. Fi ' st he favored Paul McKay, and then he switched over to George Butts. He kept doing this u ' ltil final ' v h- decided to take them on a trip to Alaska, to get a better idea of what they were like, and which one would make the better executive. So far both young men had scored one point in the older man ' s favor. George had rescued somebody ' s cat that had fallen overboard, and Paul had located A. J. ' s wallet that someone had temporarily borrowed. ell. said A. J.. I didn ' t accomplish much tonight. Darn those women, dancing all night and keeping the poor fellows up. Wouldn ' t you think they ' d know better? Might ' s well turn in now. 1 suppose. I ' ll be glad when we reach Nome. The next morning Paul and George were playing tennis when Alexander J. got up. at fi e minutes of twelve. Good morning. Mr. Harvey. said the ])(i s. Hello. grumbled A. J. This is a sill way to spend a hot day; isn ' t it? Since you ask. A. J.. I realh don t tliink so. but we were just going to slop an wa . answered George. C ' mon, A. J., let ' s have some lunch. You act kind of gloomy today. Paul quickly suggested. As they were finishing eating. George saw a prosperous-looking business mati whom he thought might be good for a sale for the Alexan- der J. Harvey Oil Company. He didn ' t want Paul to see him. so he tried to di ert A. J. ' s and Paul ' s attention. Say. Paul. he asked, don t we know those girls over there? But Paul, glad that George was looking the other way. had also seen the prospect, and didn ' t want George to. Gosh. 1 don ' t know. he answered. They look rather familiar. Let ' s go - -. Let ' s not go over, interrupted A. J. I didn ' t bring ou on this tri]) to break ever girl ' s heart, did I? So sorry. said Paul. I know what. A. J. Why don ' t you go swimming with us? suggested George, anxious to keep an e)e on his business man. who had just gonf in the direction of the swimming pool. Sure, and it ' ll be good for you. came from Paul who was equally anxious. While they were swimming. Paul nnnaged to get a twisted ankle, and without George ' s getting suspicious, said he was going to get it taped up. Off he went, and as soon as he got out of sight, he stopped limping and proceeded to look for Mr. Businessman. With some persuasion and sales talk, he finally got a fairly good sale out of his new acquaintance. Mr. right. Now. thought Paul, good old A. J. will want to make me his successor. I hope. To make it look good, he went to have his foot taped up and then went to his stateroom to find George and A. J. He decided not to tell George about his sale, but very confiden- tially told his employer. Of course. A. J. was pleased about Paul ' s success, and at dinner he fairly sparkled. Well. he said. I gues I ' ll know j)retty soon who it ' ll be. Paul thought it would be he because he had made a good sale; and George thought he would be chosen because he was going to make a sale, he hoped. After Paul and A. J. had settled down for the evening. George looked for Mr. W right, and found him in a very affable mood. It was a little harder to manage hiin. but finally George succeeded in making as good a sale as Paul had made. Both bo s were er jo ial the next morning and extremeh satisfied. So was A. J. after George told him about his bit of luck. Oh boy! thought A. J. This is good. Why a man only fifty-seven should want to retire (Continued on page 31)

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23 DOUBLE TROUBLE Betty Mclntyre, ' 42 HEY were twins, Barry and Murray Thornton, eighte?n vears old. Some W ' l ' brothers never get along very well to- i wk m gether but these two did. They had 1 been inseparable companions from the ! ■ - I cradle up, always sticking together. But now all was different. They were drifting apart. The reason — a girl ! Janet was petite, blonde and brown-eyed, with a smooth, creamy, complexion that blushed profusely at times. She was a smooth dancer, athletic, a good conversati(jnalist, looked as if she had been poured into anything she put on. and had a personality that was considered dynamic. Altogether — a pleasing combination. Naturally with these assets she was popular, very popular, and she seemed to favor the two Thornton boys. But she was either with one, one minute and the other the next, or she was with both of them at once. Therefore the rivalry, each one trying to outdo the other but to no apparent avail. That last night, the night before she left, the three of them went for a walk on the beach. Never was nature so flattering. The moon made the rippling waters shimmer and glow and clothed the white sands in silvery iridescence. The night was still and cool. Now and then the silence was broken by the rushing of the incoming waves as they rushed and danced along the beach. The moon flattered more than the natural beauties — for tiny lights sparkled and glittered and seemed to make Janet ' s hair even more golden. Her eyes were large and luminous and her skin looked to be made of ivory. The three of them walked along in silence. Suddenly it was Janet who broke the stillness, Let ' s sit here for a while. After a few unsuccessful attempts at con- versation Murray broke out impetuously, You can ' t go — that ' s all. What do you mean — I can ' t go? this from Janet. You ' ve got to choose one of us, chimed in Barry. Look, said Murray, if it ' s Barry, I ' ll step out of the |)icture, and I think the matter stands vice versa. For once you ' re right, Brother! remarked Barry. As the bewildered girl sat there, a frown on her lovelv face, it did, indeed, seem hard to choose, one so handsome and lithe and upright and fine, — and the other his exact replica. Finally she broke the suspense. Barry — Murray — please trust me and wait until Satur- day. Then FU be down to spend two weeks. I think by then this can be straightened out, she said with an amused laugh. Next Saturday! ! they exploded. Why that ' s four whole days away! I know — I know, she said, but at least — if you both care for me — you can have the patience to wait. We ' ll do it, they said with grim, resolved looks on their faces. The next morning at 9:04 they could be seen ctanding on the station platform, waving at what was now a wisp of a girl, standing on the observation platform, away off in the distance. Without one word they just looked at each other, and with hands in their pockets and disconsolate expression on their faces they walked home. This attitude remained for three days. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton exchanged covert, amused glances at one another whenever the opportunity offered. Saturday morning all was different. The Thornton household was very busy. At 9:30 the two boys emerged from their respective rooms, each impeccably dressed. They didn ' t eat much that morning for some unknown rea- son. At 10:30 they were on the platform. Finally the train chugged in. Then the most bewildered expression came across the faces of the two boys — for emerging from the train were two Janets! ! ! ! Then it broke — they looked at each other. Twins! ! they exclaimed. Hurrying forward they greeted Janet. Hello — Barry — Murray. I want you to meet my twin sister, Jeanette. Jeanette, Barry and Murray Thornton. Then they all spoke at once. The ice was broken and everybody was beaming. You never told us you had a twin sister, Barry said. (Continued on page 26)

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•IkDDies 25 THE OPERA Warren Sylvester, ' 42 REMEMBER well my first opera. Gotterdainmerung by Wagner, as if it were last night instead of a year ago. I remember the ride through the thick of the traffic to the 0])era House, the auto-horns, the whistles, and the detour around where the new subway entrance had just been opened. In the lobby there was a long snake-like line of people awaiting their turn at the window for the rush seats. After purchasing the tickets, we rushed out into the coM again to the side door, where already a sizable group had gath- ered. Each one was telling the other why he had come to this particular opera, and why he hadn ' t got a reserved seat. Many were re ' ding lib- rettos at $2; others if they were tall enough, read over their shoulders. I always have pitied the poor fellow Avhose job it was to open the door. His only safesjuard was that the doors opened outward. Had they opened inward he piobably would have been crushed. I remember the rush up the stairway, a circular staircase with right-angle turns every ten steps or so. At the top, an attendant took his half of our tickets. On reaching the final landing, half of us, (the group of standees were old friends now ) went to the right, half to the left. I took the right. On reaching the openings I discovered to my dismay that I was on the wrong side of the house, the horn section being way over on the other side of the pit. I rushed around to the other side just in time to wiggle into one of the few remaining places. At last I could see the horns, two Schmidts, a Kruspe, and one other I couldn ' t make out. I have always wondered to this day how the tim- panist could stand being under the edge of the stage. His ears must have been resounding all the next day from the beating they took that night. In the prologue, Brunnhilde and Siegfried, in a bright red cloak and golden helmet, the Tarnhelm, are seated on a large rock surrounded by the magic fire which only Siegfried could penetrate. Siegfried, in search of adventure, is going on a journey down the Rhine. As Brunnhilde does not wish to see him walk all that distance, she gives him her horse, Grane. (The horse, in the meantiine, is being held by an attendant, unseen except by the group in which I was, behind the scenery. ) He was a large white horse which Siegfried had to ride bareback. The horse died last month. As Siegfried is approaching the Rhine, his horn call is heard. The first horn got very red, even though he didn ' t bring the call out very well, but he had a nice tone. One thing that stands out very sharply in my mind is the episode of the third trumpeter. All during the performance he had looked as though he should have been home and the con- ductor thought so about half-way through the second act. He had a very well-placed solo with only the strings for competition and he missed it, muffed it very badly. To make matters worse he made the very same mistake when it came along again about five minutes later. He hung his head in shame and pulled out a letter which he began to read. Maybe he was jilted, commented a fellow standee. For the standees two of the most colorful moments of the opera were during the two intermissions, while the lights were on, when we could look down at all the silk and satin gowns of the ladies, mostly white with a few light greens and blues scattered here and there. Later on in the opera the men ' s chorus, dressed as hunters, crowd around the edge of the stage banging their leather shields with their clubs, happy at the prospect of a hunt. Another thing I remember is that during the whole performance one fellow away down on the floor kept flashing on a small light, prob- ably to read a score or a more complete libretto than was on sale in the lobby. It reminded me of a single firefly in the dark of the night, trying to find his way home. During the last act the smoke screen from the downstairs audience kept getting thicker and thicker, giving me the feeling of even greater height. The ventilators must have been in bad shape. At the finale of the opera there is another fire on the stage; Wagner, it is claimed by his contemporaries had a very fiery nature. This lime it does not protect the beauty but is burn- ing the haven of the gods, being lit by Sieg- fried ' s funeral pyre. After it has been thor- oughly burned, the Rhine rises and puts out the fire and the music-drama ends as a great cloud of stream rises from the stage. At the finale I was, mentally, sorry that it was over but, physically, having stood up for four hours and more, I was happy at the pros- pect of a ride home.