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

Page 31 text:

I- L N K f I b iw f lf Q Q X ' Agfwrn A 1 A 1 Y gi at 'vt Wow. 22 ll A if J f Zyymvnykll Sits xg 5 ,,,,r1f?gf5f,'lagfg.- 55325 f xp , t.xK:l , X 1, .,- , , , vsi I, A oilff :J-lf? I A ' 14 I f.. ef . 4 A' I I ' ' --.Q I ' A I 4 lf! V JV, if 'I .SH if if Q -5 ' I 1' 'r .Ml l , ' Y I , 'ix r 2 L, I 1 'ill 'A 4 05 if ff , gl I, I ff' V A A . il V 'llf l . I A ,I N S. P1 fl 7, ,rs C in r. yflf5ds K 'I I was still uncertain about his offer, but I figured, Hwhat could I lose?H I told him it was a bargain. Of course, he demanded immediate payment. In five hours I made the payment. When I asked him how he plan- ned to beat the British, he said, HFirst, I will make General Burgoyne afraid of horses. Then I will make Lord Cornwallis a- fraid of getting his fingernails broken. Of course, your men will probably not have to fight at all. They will just have to be there. The odds are a million to one that no one will be hurt. However, I do guarantee your winning the war.H He bid me goodbye and depart- ed, telling me that he would see me on the morrow. That night I had trouble sleeping. I spent a fitful night wondering about the deal I had made. Why, I didn't even know the creature's name. HOh well,H I said to myself, HI shall find out tomorrow.H The next day, the creature was all smiles when I asked him his name. He replied that it was Abercrombie F. fthe UPN for CorneliusD Spalensin. He repeated that he could never make the grade as a first rate sorcerer if he did not help us win. He acted as if we were doing him a favor. I kindly agreed not to di- vulge his name, a name with no relation to persons living, dead, or in-between. He told me that I should attack on Christmas Eve because everybody would be Hboo- zin it upu and he would have the 'schnappsn drugged. I must give him credit. No one else could have thought of such a diaboli- cal plan. And what's more, it worked. I did just what he said I knew we were going to win with or without his help after the first battle. After the final battle, Spal- enson told me that once he left me, I would never see him again. I was sorry to have him go, but I received solace in the fact that he told me that he had re- ceived his first-rate sorcerer's badge and he would be enter- nally grateful to the United States and me. When he said farewell for the last time and disappeared, the only trace that was left of him was a puddle of chicken fat. Theodore Weiss 29

Page 30 text:

f CHICKEN FAT One day, long before Valley Forge, as I was sitting in the den at my old plantation, I heard a loud Hpopn. I looked up and before me was a---how shall I describe it,-a queer- looking creature perhaps from a distant planet. He said to me, HGeorge Wash- ington, I presume?H I answered with a quake in my voice and a chill down my spine that I was the person in question. He asked me if 1 wanted to win the Revolutionary War. I replied that I did but I feared the far-superior British forces we had to fight against. UTush,H he said to me. nWhat I can do to cripple the British will more than put the feeble attempts of your troops to shame I knew there would be a catch Hwhat do you want in return if you win the war for us?H I queried. HTo begin with, 400 bags of chicken feathersg moreover, a dead cat with a lamb's head tied to a cat's tail.H I knew I could get these strange items easily, but I was filled with curiosity for his reason for wanting them. He sensed my curiosity and explain- ed that he needed a certain num- ber of service credits before he could become a full-fledged sorcerer, and only a full-f1ed- ged sorcerer could turn chicken feathers into gold. He was be- hind in his schedule and only by making America win the Rev- olutionary War could he attain enough credits in a short enough time to satisfy his superiors. The dead cat and lamb's head were details he couldn't explain at the moment. -5.4 asf ' - F . T -F'-1-e'5f ' f-T if ?-1-' ...'-f? l 5,11 ' ' J ., - Af-4 Lf fa- c .I-.f.....'I Q T B I ..c i .f xi A if , 1 iEEEEi:7m-B ' gzfigl' 'fm, ,, ,352-- ! dsx . r nf-ix, -ni Ll' -.us . Q, In - -CE i xg H -A I ,.,-1-.. - ef fl? 3 C ' 'N -,..-f.:- -- '......r --1---..... H fu X -qi.:i::1 ---- 5 . if - c-.-rm , ..-.--i.., 28 .-

Page 32 text:

1-'f'I-2::sa:-f 1-4:r-f A law-4 un...-- , 1 -. grin Q' - - 4' :Q-,.. gg i I ' if U . i - X ACROSS THE BORDER TO FREEDOM XA! 3, , ' 2f gc, y, , , ,c , E, g ,y A 'u EQ- ff - . y N 'F' X ff 'ax 2 ,' ' A TRUE STORY OF ESCAPE ' 'S ,L F W I X g FROM HUNGARY I ' Q - 'J . A ' A . - jr.. , JH4' a .k it ic in an or H 'YIXUP-N H All V I .Q X N xv 4 IJ October 23, 19561 The revolu- tion had begung and the Russian tanks and soldiers moved into the cities and towns. There was fighting and shedding of blood. Hungary was now in the hands of the Communists. But what were we the people, to do? NEscape?n The word was in everybody's mind and on everybody's tongue. The risk was great. What if you were caught? What would happen? Yet, the people were read to sacri Y .. fice everything for their freedom. They crossed swamps, rivers, went across frozen wastelands just to escape from Communism. December 31, 1956 was the date set for our escape. It was a cold night and the train we used to transport us to the border was not heated. The people were ner- vous and still undecided about taking the risk. After a ride of two hours, we got Off the train and walked in the dark shadows of the freight yard toward a locomo- tive. The locomotive would take us as near to the border as pos- sible. The children were sleepy and were crying, and the tempers be- came short. About twenty-five of us sat, rather tried to sit, in the locomotive. The few be- longings which the people took 30 with them were scattered. We had to squat, just in case a cur- ious enemy decided to look in on us. All in all it was very crowded and uncomfortable. In an hour we reached the place where our journey began. Everyone scrambled out of the locomotive, stretched his limbs, and got ready for the last and most dangerous part of our trip. As I looked ahead of me, all I could see was a vast stretch of snow-covered land, and maybe if luck was with us, a new future. Walking was very difficult and the small corn stalks hindered our speed. Every ten or twenty minutes we stopped and let the people in the back catch up to us. We neared the border and were shaking with fear. We prayed that the guards would either be asleep or too drunk to patrol the border. Our pray- ers were well rewarded. Not a guard was in sight. The guards were celebrating, singing, and welcoming the New Year. Within half an hour, we were across the border in Vienna, safe in the hands of the Red Cross nur- ses. Thus we entered a New Year in a new land with renewed hope for the future. Agnes Friedman