Viscount Bennett Junior High School - Terminal Yearbook (Calgary, Alberta Canada)

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THE TERMINAL Page 100 ESSAYS FIRST PRIZI REINCARNATION You look out, for the first time, at n. the whitecapped waves struggling free of y 1 the ocean, and you think for a split - s second that you have witnessed this be- v U fore. You look down from a mountain top j -— |! j for the first time in your life and you j [j | feel you have done this before. You J I silently absorb the cold brilliance of j a star-lit night and you forget who you X are. You begin to wonder what you | were. . . lj ! You were the drop of moisture on a I leaf, a plummeting raindrop, a perfectly- . w--[ ' moulded snowflake. You were a minute ■ , s t- - 5 v splotch of moisture in the dirt. V You were the tall, marvellous oak, j (y. Vr the petite exquisite bloom, a tiny forget- me-not in the sunlit meadow. You were the -41 2 - ancient fern, the wayward weed in the swamp. You were most things without life, a worthless clump of clay, a precious gem, a fine sword of steel. You were gunpowder, poison on a dart, the feather on an arrow -- evil forces. You were a harmless smooth pebble in someone’s palm. You were earth, air, fire and water and more still. You were most things animate, a -----—-prehistoric monster, a mammal. You were deer, bison, elephant you were lion, puma, cheetah and you were fox, hare ,chipmunk, . s v possum and beaver. You were the hunter y and sometimes the hunted. J n In your supreme moments you were man. ! You were the peddlar, the butcher, the V „athlete, the invalid, the criminal, the j ' genius, the ignorant peasant. You were r -r ' the baker and the candlestick maker. You ' •—x were a prince, a duke, a count, a court ' jester, a merlin, a witch doctor. You 4 [ T- were president, vice-president, secretary, Y T Nr—treasurer and janitor. You were all types) I | jT j - of man; the strong, the weak — the shorty I j j I I the tall — the fat, the thin. I l ' ll i And what will be in your endless ) II 1 j I tomorrow? A kernel of popcorn, a gum 11 j i j j wrapper, a paper clip, ink, a shoelace, I j j j j 1 an eraser, the lead of a pencil? Will you) I 1 j j i be a broken sliver of glass, a little —J—1—- —l -i-i—1—I—!——i-- boy’s marble, lipstick, a two-cent stamp, j

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e 99 THE TERMINAL together in oneness and in happiness and that in itself is a lesson which some people require a lifetime to learn. I only wish the entire world could benefit from our experience. If there were a bigger award for citizenship, especially in the community, it would be M’liss Clark who would deserve it. The hall was silent for a moment then filled with the rousing ovation of the crowd as Betty-Lou handed M’liss her award. Roberta Smith, 11-28 HONORABLE MENTION SMITH ' S ALARM Walking through the rolling mist, customary of London in November, Mrs. Smith whispered to her husbnad. John, it ' s just the night for burglars - did you leave the back door open? My dear, you worry too much: do I look capable of forgetting the back door? Mrs. Smith shrugged, doubting very much her husband’s capability. Ear all about itt Robbers in Kens-ingtonl Read all about itt ' Ere guv’ buy a paper. Mr. Smith dropped a penny into the paper boy’s box and held the newsheet under a dim street-light. Hmmmm, seems they had a big haul this time..... He was interrupted by an anguished cry of Oh, Aunt Emily’s candlesticksl and a yank on the arm fr om his wife. Arriving home John began to wonder about the back door, surely that was a flashlight in the window? John, you were so certain you’d locked upl So sure you’d locked the back doorl I’ve never met anyone so stupid, so - John extended his hand and closed it over Ethe1’s mouth. Shut up you old bagl Do you want them to kill us? The shock of John’s audacity curbed Ethel’s temper while he quietly slipped into the house. Ins.ide, John took hold of his mother-in-lav;’ s sturdy umbrella from the stand, and crept towards the living-room door. Having just seen Alan Ladd’s latest gangster movie, John stood back against the door and turned the knob, Ladd couldn’t have turned the lenob more quietly. The door was open, nothing could have been simpler, bangl bangl two shots, and police sirens. John, what’s going on? Are Aunt Emily’s candlesticks all right? —John, what in heaven ' s name are you doing? Unable to curb her curiosity, Ethel had run into the living-room to encounter her spouse lying on the settee, helpless with laughter. It seems that every Tuesday night thereafter the Smith’s stayed home to watch ’Dragnet’ on T.V. Gladys Perkins, 11-30

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THE TERMINAL . Page 101 a penny, a piece of string? Will you be a bobby-pin, rocket fuel, gum the dirt on a fly’s wing? Will the world be yours, or is the world ever yours? You were a million things, so no wonder you watch, eyes transfixed, the ant crawl across the sidewalk, the eagle soar into the pale blue, the trout glide swiftly through the water. Wo wonder you stare at bird, beast, insect and fish. You were once all of these in time’s endless passage, so you acknowledge any existence, despite its feebleness or complcxityj you stop and watch because you know someone once stopped to observe you, to recognize you, somewhere deep in the past before automobiles, movies — before telephones, airplanes, and before supermarkets. Some¬ one once stopped to watch you, but it was so long ago. Since the beginning, you have always observed and something has always been there to watch you in return. I swear this to be true and if it is not true then I am not the bead of sweat on your forehead, nor do you exist, nor does the earth and all that inclines to rest upon it. Ron Huck, 11-30 SECOND PRIZE (Tied) TRIVIALITIES We’re spoiled ' . You’re spoiled, the whole world is spoiled, including myself. We get whatever ouf hungry hearts (and mouths, as well) desire. Our parents, leaders and teachers cater to our every whim and want. Our houses are brimming with utterly useless contrivances such as doors, walls and little sisters. Look around you, at home, at school, what do you see? TRIVIALITIES, of coursel Utter nuisances such as the aforementioned, actually hinder us and Miserablize our lives. How many times have you collided with a door (truthfully nowj none of the black-eye excuses )? If there were no such monstrosities, entrances between rooms would be unobstructed, there would be no scratches on walls (another group of extraneous objects), thus eliminating the otherwise necessary repainting. Of what earthly good is a wall? Inten¬ tionally jutting out into most corridors, walls seem to have an almost uncanny ability to be in the right place (direct¬ ly in front of you) at the wrong time. Without walls, we would need no expensive paintings to cover the conspicuous cracks and holes, ' ' we would not have to heat many separate rooms, but one large one with a central heater. You see. I’ve saved you money already. Sisters, touch sub¬ jects at the best of times, were created in my opinion, to balance the world; most other things ar e- pleasant and serve some purpose, but sisters, on the other hand, are just that - on the other hand. Glimpsing at the topic of trivialities from another angle, we find that today, people (mainly: the species(?) known as woman ) get worked up and flustered over the most trifling bits of nonsense. Meeting an acquaintance on the street, you comment on her new coat. That person, after considering the ’remark, wanders aimlessly off, wondering whether it was a comment or a subtle insult. This is typical of the way