Strathcona Tweedsmuir School - Paidia Yearbook (Okotoks, Alberta Canada)

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LOCKE CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST POETRY TO A COLLECTOR He shut the cage door On the last addition To his private zoo And proudly, Smiled As he gazed around at the Once wild and Once free Most beautiful creations Of nature. Once again He had proven himself Superior To the lesser beasts, And he was swelled with pride, But this brave, courageous, and great man Was too blind to see That without realizing, He had created A perfectly False world That was a Mirror image, Of his own life of captivity. Gerald Maguire, I AM ALWAYS TOO FAR FROM YOUR WORLD Dreams drifting by Were suddenly parted Were suddenly high Above my head lwatched them drift by Like clouds in the sky Oh so incredibly high As though they could fly l wondered lon my bedl If I should rise But l stayed instead l reached for the skies Grade 12 September doth come and the leaves turn yellow October doth come and the birds fly south November doth come 1 x is s N Qxx it mmiw -1 fm ' . . . , ' W - AT .4 I ggi 5 , .f dx 5 - .xx BobGammeIl MJ' X x-im ,VQN 1 l IIQFX-xxx' In 1 . i I 1 I J' Grade 12 Winner, Poetry Section shakespeare revisited ..., the quality of mercy is not strained it droppeth as a gentle rain from heaven upon the chevrolet below and rises through the smug faces of the masses in the form of reflections from the puddles that lie in the parking lots of your mind. Nicholas Graham Grade 12 and the people fly south December doth come and the snows do appear. January doth come and why didn't I fly south? Andrew Craine Grade 12 Gerald Maguire the dog sat next to me on the road to the city i waited for him to speak but he wouldn't i threw a rock to the pond. the silence was broken the sun came out a car drove by i smiled at the woman in the front seat it started to rain. now look what you've done said the dog. Nicholas Graham Grade 12

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4' if r q,qQ K, N, 6' o if ff s 2' 'I at S Q-o 9 E' QQ .rg Q5-,,, '42 3-2 35' vt? Sa :sl Sn fbi 9 51.93. 99 5' 'Q- M 'Vp author, nz 0 TEACHERS SHOW PROMISE AS TH ESPIANS A review of the STS staff presentation Sandy Heard's Flying Circus at Winter Carnival, February, 1976. lt was a powerful performance, the kind one is lucky to see once in one's life. For a few brief minutes it was Chem 20 all over again, a brilliant synthesis of one b d wrote: l of the most inane classes in high school. But forget what the ar once come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones. This tour de force of character study by a group of twenty-one talented individuals would put Olivier to shame. The cast included Mrs.Kirkham who was winsome as Shirley Willey and Mr. K'lb ho did a masterful job in his cameo appearance as Brett Kool. John Strath- i w muir, Slip Sturgess, Steve Kleen, Andy Lousy and Fred Furlong as the back of the ll M .S h 't and class crowd were played by Mr. Keller, Mr. Wilson, Mr. McConne , r c mi Mrs. Foster respectively. Polly Dawson, the class whiz kid, was, aptly enough, Dr. Nosal. Randy Draine, tied and jacketed, was played by Mr. Ditchburn who could not quite submerge his extroverted behavior despite valiant attempts. Never mind! We enjoyed the signs: Peasant etc. Mrs. Widney was Tubby Gonesometimesg Patches Headstrong the class rowdy was played by our quiet librarian, Mrs. Ro chan and Julie Body, who arrived in class in a gym suit half-way through the P performance, was Mrs. Coyne. When Mrs. Coyne played Julie, her gymnastics skill ' H W ll- came in handy, as she did acrobatics throughout the lesson arvey a banger, the student who always manages to have a music lesson when a test is announced, was played by Mr. Nelson. Smiling Jack was played by Mr. Hay, Steve Boss, the one with the literary talent, by Mr. Freight, Fred Blooper by Mr. Koning and Nick Greyman, the school vice-president, by Mr. Tottenham. One wonders what happened to Kathie. Mr. and Mrs. Howard Hughes, the parents of six pros- pective students were the people upon whom the class was supposed to make a d ' sion Mrs Hughes emerged wearing an extraordinary costume like goo impres . . something the tubes might dredge up. It included enormous fishnet platforms and a short mink coat as well as an extremely long cigarette holder. Mrs. Hughes was played by Mrs. Desrochers and Mr. Hughes by Mr. Thompson. The acoustics in the gym were so bad you may not have heard the pre-class chatter. There was loud talk about the Okotoks Winter Carnival, about the party at Shylock's the night before and also of preparations for the dance-who was taking whom. lt was all so typical of our classes it was hilarious. lt was a look at ourselves through the teachers' eyes. It managed to include every character in the school, while still being good fun. The teachers seemed to enjoy it at least as much as we did and I hope this is not the last dramatic attempt we shall see from the Staff Room Thespians. Jane McQuitty Grade 12

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LIFE WITH JOSEPH We're not as quick as we used to be. As a matter of fact, we're not quick at all, Joseph and I. To do justice badly needed to both of us, I should say with combined efforts we are in great shape, considering age and that Joseph drools, and can't hear as well as he used to. I'm not a complainer nor do I squibble about comfort, but I am getting on, and if someone is going to make a habit of drooling on me, I'd prefer it to be myself. lOf course I don't droolj and no one else, and if, I ask for a bedpan, I don't want a banana, and most of the time, I don't want to listen to Joseph describe in detail his episode with the Indians way back when. Ah, but really Joseph is my best friend-my only friend. We love to reminisce, telling our jokes and saying with smiles on our faces. Ah, those were the days. But I've heard all Joseph's stories and jokes and none of my own. That is why I need a listener so that I may tell my side ofthe story. When I first met Joseph, I was a mere boy just coming to my senses, that point in life when I found out I was alive. We were very good friends from the beginning. We were inseparable. I remember people frequently mistaking me for Jo- seph since we were always together. I thought I recognised it as a common human error. We went to the same schools together, received the same grade, and liked and disliked the same things-it was an almost perfect friendship. Although we had a very unique relationship, we did have our conflicts-rare but deadly. Joseph could be so careless and irresponsible at times and how he got me into trouble! Once I remember at the age of 11, we ventured off to the candy store to satisfy a sweet tooth. While I was milling over the little delights, Joseph whispered in my ear, Steal some . I was shocked at this suggestion and told him certainly not, but he insisted and tried to show me how. I guess the frantic whispering caught the proprietor's attention who was just in time to see Joseph stuffing candy into his pockets. When I looked around, a very big man was heading for Joseph-and I was scared.Being of quick mind and forgiving soul I jumped in front of Joseph and told the proprietorthat it was I who was to blame and that Joseph was innocent. He grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and booted me into a small closet without a word. I was lost without Joseph and the room was small, dark, and hot, and I couldnt understand why Joe didn't help me. I cried myself to sleep. After the store closed, a burst of light hit me and I couldn't open my eyes-it was horrible. Joseph was there and the shaking that had started since I was brutally shoved into the closet, stopped. Father whipped me good and hard that night even though I told him over and over ll hate to squeal, but ... lJoseph did it and I covered for him. He didn't understand and I decided right then and there I would never speak to Father again. As we grew, women folk took a big part in our lives. Our efforts never went unrewarded even if all it was was a peck on the cheek. ln normal circumstances, the girl of our fancy, who was obliging to go to a show, never would oblige again. We thought it was just that we were too much. Getting on inthe years, we never married and our friendship was therefore never preoccupied with someone else. Oh, it wasn't as if we weren't suitable, we were, on the contrary, a handsome pair to say the least. lt's just that Joseph and I never desired companionship from anyone else. So here we are, together since childhood, encountering the same experiences. Infact ldon't remember a situation where we both weren't in- volved. Why, the reason why I am lwith Josephj in this white hospital is due to his hip injury resulting from a fall just last week. As Joseph and I were walking to our apartment from the grocery store, our feet gave way on the ice and we ended up helpless on the sidewalk. My doctor here calls me Joseph and he hardly knows us. I don't understand him but I'm too tired to argue. Fatigue sets in rather fast these days. As a matter of fact, I can't go into everlasting sleep now for Joseph wants to live and without me he is nothing but a vegetable so to speak. And now I must regretfully say good-bye for the doctor is going to take me and call me by that name and ruin everything. Hello Joseph, and how are we this morning? Oh, I see by your chart that you've been refusing the pills. Not good, not good, the intern remarked as he held Joseph Weber's wrist. Nancy Gammell Grade 12 Winner, short story SHORT STORY