University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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THE LIGHT THAT DID NOT FAIL by MYRON MINNICK u n ' :7 ' ' - ' ' ; „ ,.,,,,, ,..„.,, y He walked lorward into the night, but he knew not where he walked, because his eyes were closed, and his mind was weary. The bitter wind, cold and penetrating, tore at his coat and trousers with angry, tireless teeth. There was a Light — a strong, guiding Light — in front of him but he could not see Irrom iy4z bl KOOeOj jt because his head was lowered against the wind and his eyes were closed. He was a large, towering being, obviously strong and intelligent, obviously capable of seeing and following the Light, but he was handicapped by his tight-shut eyes, by his confused thoughts. Within his mind there was doubt and indecision and hesitancy. There is no hope, he said to himself. Why should I struggle on? What is there for me? Four years I have struggled, and now I see no prospect of ever reaching my destination. He blinked his eyes, and a bit of moisture collected and rolled slowly down his cheek. Even as he pitied himself, the Light grew larger and stronger on his horizon and cried out to be seen and followed. It was January, 1942. He shrugged, pulled his coat closer about him. leaned against the howling wind. What is there for me in the future? ' he queried. What will be my reward for these years of struggle? After they are finished, exactly what will I have? The more he asked, the larger grew Doubt in his mind. As Doubt became greater, his strength decreased, and his steps weakened and wavered. The wind, always seeking an opportunity to triumph over weakness, shrieked down with even greater fierceness, tore even more voraciously at his clothes, sought with greater fury to halt his progress. The whole world is enveloped in this storm. he complained. Once there was quiet and stillness, and men could go about their daily tasks free from fear; now all is noise, struggle, hate; now there is nothing but fighting — fighting always against the turbulent storm, the growling, merciless wind. It was February, 1942. His steps grew even weaker and finally were almost halted. The wind began to tear his coat from his body. He seemed to be a doomed man — doomed to succumb to the howling storm that wrenched the vitals of his world. I am a doomed man, he said with bitter resignation. I am one of a Lost Generation. I, who have worked so long, now am being repaid for my efforts by violence and slaughter and death. Why could not I have lived in the time of peace and quiet — in the time when a man could work and live without interruption from storms? At last he stopped. There is no hope. he said. His legs buckled, and he slipped toward the hard earth. Slowly he began to resign himself to his hopeless fate. . . . But the Light, which had ever been growing closer, suddenly illuminated his face. .Startled by a force he could instinctively feel, he opened his eyes, raised his bowed head. He gasped with surprise as the Light settled down around him, seeped into his tired body, poured strength into his weakened legs, stimulated his fatigued and confused mind. The Light was made of two elements — Faith and Hope — and his mind and body sucked it up eagerly, like a man dying of thirst who is suddenly given water. As the Light fed his being, his reason returned. 1 am not doomed. he told himself with surprise. I am not of a Lost Generation. I was weakened and almost defeated because I did not open my eyes, because my mind was closed. The Light was there all the time — I merely did not see it. It was June, 1942. The wind was still angry and fierce, but he no longer felt weak and confused. His eyes, opened wide, were fixed upon the Light. His head was held proud and higii. And with set jaw and renewed hope, he — who was the Class of 42 — walked 28 resolutely and squarelv into the face of the wind, and there was the radiant Light of Faith in his eyes and Hope in his soul.

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Tuesday noon. The cars are streaking through the interchange, weaving easily in and out in the half- empty lanes. On the Hollywood free- way, near the Rampart exit, a roadwork crew has set up its row of little plastic pyramids to close the right lane, and is filling cracks in the pavement. Traffic is thin, but the cloud of heavy air caused by the morning ' s rush hour still hangs low over the road, obscuring thehills. On the Benton Street overpass two twelve-year-old boys, dressed in blue jeans and T-shirts, lean against the rail, eating sandwiches. They have escaped for the moment the drudgery of seventh grade to run up the hill to the bridge, as they do every day, to watch the magic rush of the cars streaming beneath them. The strange, set, dis- embodied faces of the people sitting still while going sixty-five, seldom look up to the two silhouettes on the rail, but when they do the two boys wave, and when the driver waves back it makes their day. Then the face be- comes a personality, and they specu- late as to its character — I ' ll bet he ' s a prospector — going all the way to Alaska — to prospect for oil. On the Freeway the red Corvair, with its top down, flies toward Holly- wood, where the driver has an ap- pointment for lunch. The driver ' s mind is preoccupied, as usual, when he drives, with events — a speech by a candidate, a rock concert disaster in France. His eye, roving the road, catches the movement of waving arms on the bridge, and, looking up, he waves back, then passes underneath. Say, says one of the kids, with a modern kind of hero worship, I ' ll bet he ' s a radical. 27

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October 3 use beats Oregon State 45-13. 5 Evelle Younger, candidate for State Attorney General appears in Hancock Auditorium. 7 Justin Dart reelected chairman of Board of Trustees. Students storm Commons to argue campus politics with Dart and President Hubbard. 10 Stanford defeats use, 24-14. 12 Arson in Bridge hall injures man, causes $1000 damage. 16 Campus food employees vote to go union. 17 use beats Washington, 28-25. 20 President Hubbard addresses students in Bo- vard Auditorium. 21 Student debate with trustees at noon forum. Students vote on AMS and class posts. 2 2 Senatorial candidate John Tunney speaks. 24 Oregon beats USC 10-7 27 New ruling allows alcoholic drinks in dorms. 28 Sen Harold Hughes speaks at Great Issues Forum. Students vote in runoff election for student posts. 29 Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Gov- ernor speaks. 31 Homecoming Cal beats USC 13-10. I 29