St Johns College - Ozanam Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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qflsking for' a Raise By THOMAS P. KENNY Have you ever asked for a raise? If you haven't you still have something coming to you in the way of a brand new feeling, I mean the sensation you experience while approaching the boss on this mission or, if you prefer, this quest. It is not the same as seasick- ness nor is it exactly similar to drop- ping ten stories in an elevator, yet it may be said to have characteristics particular to each, and at times, to a combination of the two. Walking into a dentist's office with an aching tooth to be upainlessly extracted, as we read in the advertisements, comes closer to it than anything else, al- though in this case the sufferer is not the one you would naturally expectg the boss is the one who has the pain while you are the one to do the pulling. As much depends upon your ap- proach to the boss as your approach to the green-to use an expression from the golfers' vocabulary-for you must neither shoot too far, nor must you foozle, and make an extra attempt necessary. Go right in as if you be- longed there. Don't speak about the weather as a conversation opener, tell him what is on your mind. He can find out about the atmospheric condi- tions by consulting a barometer or even by a casual glance out the win- dow, if it happens to be open, or through it, if the artificial clouds have been dispersed at an expense which will turn up on the next bill from the window cleaners. When you go in on the carpet the boss is very busy. He is frowning and looks decidedly agitated. The thought comes over you that you will not say what you intended, and that this is not the proper time to ask for the raise which he will undoubtedly re- fuse, and should you ask, he will only make you feel uncomfortably foolish. These thoughts do not come separate- ly but in one fleeting Bash to your brain. It is very fortunate that the boss does not turn around and see the expression on your face because he'd think you had either lost your reason or were taken violently ill. But he does not even look up from the papers on his desk in opening the ordeal which is sure to follow. Well, Percival? He manages to put these two words in a paternal tone and ejects some- thing into them which makes you feel that he would be offended at your re- quest for a raise. How this is done is a subject on which only a boss could write. Your panic-stricken feeling abates just enough for you to form a mental picture of Horatius at the Bridge, or Washington crossing the Delaware, or something of the sort. With these ex- amples of heroism encouraging you the words slip from your tongue. They are not the words you have re- hearsedg no indeed, they are plain English words lacking the construc- tion of grammatical sentences, and en- tirely different from what you were planning to say. However, they are out and you feel somewhat better. A wince of pain and a shudder seems to pass through the boss as though he had been secretly and sud- denly stabbed. This is over in a mo-

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THE OZANAM 33 of the scene that it has murdered thrills the world, and 'while the doc- tor saves a life, the journalist may save a soul. just a little word dropped here or there in one of his works may guard a man from disgrace, or a na- tion from ruin. And yet we are told that journalism is not honorable. The fact is, if other lives were half as hon- orable, this world would be replete with honor, and honor would then be as common as is now its vulgar op- posite. And so, my Catholic friends, allow me, in this poor attempt at writing, to preach to you a little sermon. Be- fore you speak contemptibly of au- thorship as a profession, stop to con- sider: Are you going to state a pri- vate opinion or an established fact? Are you going to criticize something which you do not understand, or at best, something against which you are prejudiced? And above all, is there among your hearers a little child who one day may become a great writer, provided you, by your unthoughtful ridicule, do not discourage him. If Catholic authorship is not what it should be, it may be your faultg hence if you cannot help it, at least do not help to cripple it. Thus some day you will be able to pick up a Catholic magazine in which, if you read for art's sake, you will find a work of art, and if you read merely for pleasure, you will find there a story in which a man is a man, a woman a woman, and if you will, the two finally but one. And Catholic writers in fairly good number will have lived, and will have given to the world a worthy literature which will remain after them, and will be to their name a Fitting monument, so that not in vain will they have lived, nor entirely will have died, if dying, they yet live in the tender hearts of all grateful men. The Land of Heart's Desire By JOHN MARSHAl.L Where flowers bloom, and blush, and die Unnoticed by a human eye, Where murm'ring waters gently croon And breezes cool the heat of noon, Where spring eternal seems to be, Are sunny lands that brink the sea. 'Tis there I'1l go near my life's close To seek a quiet, sweet repose.

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THE OZANAM 35 ment but is succeeded by a long thoughtful look suggesting that he has not only been hurt but surprised. Well, you are aware, Percival, times are not what they should be. We're under a big expense and the way things are-I don't know. Let's see, how long have you been with us ? You tell him and he swings in his swivel chair and faces the window, seemingly pondering over the terrific expense connected with the mainte- nance of the business. You had en- tertained an idea that the concern was highly prosperous. All your calcula- tions have been apparently unfound- ed, and you gravely accept the sad news that the firm is on the brink of failure. There is something the mat- ter with your heart, you find. Too much smoking, I suppose is what you tell yourself. If you now have sense enough to keep quiet the boss will make the next move. Well, I guess it's all rightg you can tell Barker on the way out that I said you could have five dollars more after this week. You beam and know not how to ex- press your thanks. The boss waves you out of the office, then he turns again to his desk and you steal out of the room leaving him to the figures on the papers in front of him. After running up and down several rows of figures he finds that he beat Colonel So and So by two strokes, one of which was probably that mashie shot for the eighth hole. The door closes and you take a few steps which no Russian dancer could ever execute. You tell Barker, trying to keep your voice down where it be- longs and notice that Barker smiles. You do not know what that smile means but you will some day when you are a Barker. That evening you tell your friends. A thing like this must be told at just the right moment. The telling must not be delayed, nor should it be too abrupt. One thing is sure, you will tell it casually. Should you be smok- ing, you will flick the ash from your cigarette as a period to the sentence and if you are not smoking you will brush an imaginary spot from your knee. These are the only two ortho- dox gestures in relating the result of that exciting experience, Asking for a Raise. CA Bewitching Smile By URBAN L. Prnuon A The smile of a beautiful girl, Haunting your days and your dreams, Puts your thoughts in a whirl. The smile of a beautiful girl, In the shadow of a curl, Will not leave, it seems- The smile of a beautiful girl Haunting your days and your dreams.