Walt Whitman Junior High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 38 text:

CLAUSTROPHOBIA It must have been the sudden jolt that woke him up. Slowly things began to jell. The inky blackness was frightening. But where was he? He felt a soft pad- ding about his chest and legs. He tried to get up but he couldn't. It was so unearthly quiet he could hear his heart beating. Just then a thumping sound brought him out of his reverie. He fought with his memory for a clue to his where- abouts. Finally he remembered. Everyone had thought it was claustrophobia that had drawn him to flying, and it probably was. Ever since he had gone up in his friend's plane, flying through space became his chief goal. Since money was no object, he bought only the best of planes and equip- ment. He paid no attention when 36 JOURNEY WITH A MAD MAN I opened the door and there he 1 stood pointing a gun at me. He pushed his way into the houseand started mumbling all sorts of crazy things. At that moment, there was a bulletin over the radio, UMad man escaped from insane asylumn. He fired two shots at the radio and grabbed me by the hand. We got into an old car and he began driving at a high rate of speed. As we rounded the sharp curves, all kinds of thoughts raced through my mind. At 4 that moment, I looked down and to my surprise what should be lying on the floor of the car but a revolver The second he turned his head, I reached for the gun. I pointed it straight at him and told him this ' was the end. I tightened my grip on the gun, closed my eyes, and clenched my teeth. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, he gave a loud moan. I looked up to see his body slump back. He had died from heart failure. My pointed gun was too much for him! , Gail I the doctornsaiduflying will affect your heart. It was on his last flight that it happened. His heart conked out, and after the tail H spin and crash, they had given him i up for dead. The stark terror of being nbur- y ied aliven suddenly hit him. The darkness and the thumping over- whelmed him. The scraping of the shovel, the resounding of the earth filling in a grave, the darkness--- He screamed like a madman. He was closed in. The thick walls of the coffin were immovable. He was per- spiring, and he fought for self- control. with all his strength he pushed against the coffin, but the shoveled earth had weighted it down. Before long he gasped for breath. Finally he blacked out. Jeffrey Harris w sikoff

Page 37 text:

At this he turned and snorted, n0h yeah?U nYeah,H Linda mimicked. Uwell, you have to catch me firstln This started a tiring chase for Linda CBertram never seemed to'tir6 all over the house: under the ta- ble, over the couch, around the piano, through the cellar, upstairs downstairs, until Linda flopped down on the couch ready to surren- der. Finally, never giving in, she caught him at eleven o'clock P.M. and had to tie him to his bed be- fore he settled down. The next night she figured he needed something to interest him in order to keep him preoccupied After rummaging through her old toys, she came up with a bubble gum machine in which toy money is placed and out of which bubble gum comes. This fascinated Bertram. Linda happily went into the kit- chen to fix herself a snack feeling that her problems were solved. Bvi dently she was wrong. When she re- turned to the living room, she found bubble gum stuck to every- thing: rug, chairs, lamps, every- thing of any possible value. After another shorter but just as lively chase as the previous night, she got Bertram to bed, only to settle down to a busy night cleaning the gum from the living room. By the next night Linda knew all the angles. She mentioned casually as she came in, UBertram, let's play a nice quiet game like cow- boys and Indians tonight.n uOkay2n he agreed. As Bertram turned to get his guns and cowboy hat, Linda picked up a rope Cone of his many playthings scattered about the floor! and grabbed him. Catching him off guard, she tied him to a chair and gagged his mouth. This may not have been the most admirable treatment of an imagin- ative child but it did the trick. After an hour and a half without T.V. or destruction, Bertrahxchangei GTA J-'If' . ' fx ., . 1 ,,, fi .Nw X fix I XX N, . fy ez W 1' his l X ,-gfKln ,!1 .1 Q P K '65 ','v. V' 5 'T :Mp Q 1-A M--. v-Q-4 6223! Z.,-2 Q g X his attitude towards Linda com- P1efe1Y. Now he was afraid of her and behaved nicely when she was around. His parents were amazed at this miracle and gave Linda a steady job as his keeper Cso to speakj, q SO, Linda got her new'forma1f She was very proud of herself and felt very happy as Saturda i ht and the Njunior Hopn drew Keir? . She was the belle of the ball d owed it all to Bertram, an Maureen Nolan 35

Page 39 text:

Engulfed by a deep wilderness, I was aware only of the darkness of the night. Not even the bright moon and the twinkling stars could soothe my troubled feelings. Showered in self-pity, I was suddenly startled by a thumping noise. Peering cautiously to the right and then to the left, I spot- ted no one. Not daring to turn around, I broke into a run and head ed south. None-the-less it seemed as though the Uthumpn was right be- hind me like a shadow in the sun. The harsh winds seemed to say run---run! But with every step the thumping increased. Lacking cour- age, I knew I was never to turn around, thus never to know my fol- lower. nltn had run me directly into a cabin filled with gay, bright- hearted people who gave me no sympathy. I insisted the Nthumpn was real, they made it clear I was hearing things. Convinced of their madness, I pushed on. As the cold bit and nipped at me, I knew I must get away ---- away from the thump, thump -------- the thump, thump ----- and now I knew---the thump of my beating heart. Evelyn Brooks , eqshgrr THE MONSTER It happened on a cold wintry night. The smoke-filled restaurant seemed cozy with its Chinese tap- estries and idols. All of a sudden a shrill scream pierced the air. It seemed to be coming from my booth. Before I knew it, there was a maze of faces surrounding me, all trying to see what had happened. At that moment, another shriek arose and broke into wild song. By then I knew! It was the Monster! Somehow or other he had escaped from the house and followed me. I had to get him out of the restau- rant unseen before he did any more damage or before he hurt anyone. The last time he ruined a restau- rant and bit some small children before I could capture him. As an- other shrill blasted, the manager came forward defiantly. I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances: I dragged my kid brother out from under the table and took him home where he belonged Iris Merker 37