Westdale Secondary School - Le Raconteur Yearbook (Hamilton, Ontario Canada)

Page 33 text:

Through the years these have been the main components of perfumes. However, in the past few decades, chemistry has come along and literally stuck its nose in. Nowadays, most perfumes are compounded of many syn- thetics and chemicals as well as the natural ingredients. Just then a bright young man in my audi- ence piped up with: But just what are per- fumes used for? Well, We have already seen how the early peoples used them. Then, in medieval days, it was used to cover up the fact that very few baths were ever taken. However, nowadays it is used mainly to attract the opposite sex. You see, it is not only the women, but also the men who follow Cleopatra's methods. All shaving creams and soaps are scented, and I'm sure that every man present has at least one bottle of shaving lotion or cologne. However, in the past few years perfume has come into its own. Indeed, it pops up in the most unsusipected places. For instance, insecticides, toothpastes, rubbers, plastics, glues, and even shoe polishes are given par- ticular odours either fto attract the buyer or to mask worse odours. It is interesting to note that the inside of new cars is sprayed with the smell of new leather to attract the buyer. So you see, perfume surrounds us. Just then I noticed that the the original young lady was gone. Further investigation showed 'that she had bought three 'bolttles and hurried on home to try them out. Quite the saleswoman, aren't I! Linda Minnes. GRADE 10 JOURNEY INTO TIME It was my good fortune to be studying aft an unknown research centre in eastern Russia when the most ingenious device ever created by man was put into operation. One would immediately think, by this last statement, that I was present when a human being was shot into space inside of a guided missileg but I think I witnessed a more fascinating event - the perfection of the time machine! Since I was an apprentice to the professor, I was ap- pointed to give it a try. I was allowed to pick the era which I would like to visit. I chose the turn of the 21st cen- tury, 'because I was curious to see if there would still be an Earth in the troubled years to come. I climbed inside the machine, and in a few seconds I felt a terrific impact on the side of my container. Then everything went black. .I After what seemed to be an eternity, I slow- ly regained consciousness. I opened the door of the Time Machine and stepped out. I could hardly believe my eyes! Here was Utopia, the searched-for, the promised land, a land flow- ing with milk and honey. The streets were paved with gold, but no vegetation was to be seen. Soon I saw an Earthling - or was it? It seemed to be a god. And then I saw those beautiful white wing! I suddenly felt filled with joy. I was in Heaven! But I im.medi- ately felt sorry for Professor Irkutsk. He had not yet perfected his invention. Bonita Gilson, 10:3:5. THE TIRED JOURNALIST He sat in front of his old friend, the type- writer, and wondered where his next meal was going to come from. The cracks on the ceil- ing took shape, and were immortal souls, look- ing d-own at him and pitying him. No! He cried out against those immortal souls. Do not pilty me! I have no use for pity! I want fame, what writer doesn't want fame, strive and starve for fame? He badly Wanted fame . . . Shakespeare did, so did all the great Writ- ers of those days. Well, I do too! Not fame, John, but a work with which you will be satisfied. The cracks on the ceiling brought this message to him. Then he knew they were right. He wanted a satisfying work, just as he always had, ever since the time in school when he 'had read Shakespeare and longed for the power of expression that man had. Then he would day-dream, and see him- self as a famous writer, spurting out power- ful messages to the human race. Then he had worked toward that goal, get- ting a job and writing in his spare time till he could make a living writing. Now it was his work, his life, and he was completely ab- sorbed in it. Now, when he needed his power most, it failed him. He could just stare into space and think back on his career. Necessity is the mother of invention. This is very true, for when a man such as John is starved for food and writing, he must think of something. The thought came from the cracks in the ceiling. Write your auto-

Page 32 text:

may surprise youl established lawyer does not make more than 957,000.00 a year. There are three main types of lawyers. These are: civil, criminal and corporation. The civil lawyer deals with damage suits, contracts, leases, wills, and trusteeships. He may also handle breach of contract suits, and claim collections. The criminal lawyer deals with criminal of- fences against society, either defending or prosecuting the accused. Although he is prob- ably the best known, the criminal lawyer is not necessarily the best ipaid, because he may get only one good case a year, while the other types are assured of a somewhat steadier in- come. The corporation lawyer acts as the agent and legal adviser for companies in various business dealings. He is usually paid an an- nual income and is much surer of his take- home pay than the criminal lawyer. Two Hamilton lawyers became famous, but for entirely different reasons. The late C. W. Bell, one of the coun?try's best known criminal lawyers, was also a playwright. He wrote Parlor, Bedroom and Bath , a comedy that has been translated into 27 languages and has been played in every country of the free world. The late Sir John Gibson was author of the Child's Protective Act in 1891. This is still used as a pattern throughout the World. Because of their training and interests, it is not unusual to find members of 'the law profession playing an important role in com- munity activities. When we pause and reflect that 20 of the 33 Fathers of Confederation were lawyers, it is easy to understand that a tradition of serv- ice to the community is one of long standing. In Canada, the practice of law is an honour- able profession. John Burgess, 11G3. 0 , 4 If , K 0' X ogy? l'5HTHEq, ' ..L 2 i,P7rx.0M 422 :L4 6 Q or'ON 5 ,Z ' -.a . mil . JM, PERFUME The other day as I was browsing around the perfume department of one of our large stores, I noticed a very confused young lady. She just couldn't decide which perfume to buy. Since she seemed so very confused, I, being such an expert, decided to offer my services. Perhaps, if she knew a little about perfum.e, she would be better able to decide. In any case, its story is fascinating. Somewhat dazed, she agreed to listen. Well, I began, I suppose we should start at the beginning. Surprisingly enough, it was the men who started the whole thing. The earliest priests offered incense and other such odourous sacrifices to the gods. Later, as these priests became the village doctors, they used these perfumes as healing oils. However, this isn't as wonderful as it seems, for these per- fumes were sickly sweet and, since the priests prepared them themselves and therefore always had a ready supply, they used them a bit too lavishly. As its fame grew and grew, the women nat- urally became interested. Cleopatra was the first known woman to use perfume to beguile a man. Although, actually, if truth be known, Antony was probably just overcome from lack of air. The importance of perfume grew and grew until, in such countries as Persia, men and women both bathed in perfumes and scented oils instead of water. At this, my new friend looked at the price tag on the tiny bottle in her hand. Obviously only the very wealthy could afford this luxury. But then she put her puzzled look into words: Just why is perfume so expensive? Well, when you realize just what goes into every bottle, it is easily seen why the price is fairly high. Of course, the original scent of every per- fume comes from a flower or plant. Every flower which has an odour contains certain oils which produce this odour. That is, when you smell a rose, you smell, not the flower, but the oils in it. These oils must be extracted to form part of the perfume. Next are added parts of some animals. At this my audience, which now numbered about ten, grew aghast. Animals, in per- fumes! Why of course! Most of us already know that certain parts of certain whales are used in the better perfumes, but it is a relatively unknown fact that the muskrat or musk deer, the civet from Africa, and even our lowly beaver contribute of themselves to making us more attractive. Finally, gums and resins from certain plants and trees are added. These ingredients are gathered from all over the world.

Page 34 text:

biography, John, write the story of your life, if you can think of nothing else. Slowly, but surely, his thoughts took shape on the tired pieces of paper which had thirsted so long for words, sentences, paragraphs-not paragraphs - not just words, but words with a power, a picture, a story to them. Words with a purpose of unity, not to form neat little sentences, but to paint a picture, a 'picture of a great man's life. John's work had this spirit of unity, and painted a story greater than fiction. His pub- lishers were thrilled by it, and set out immedi- ately to make thousands of copies of his life story, each one being a thing of beauty. All stories should have a happy ending. This one does, for I make it a rule. John's story was greatly appreciated by the world at large, and many people kept it for their grandchil- dren, and their grandchildren, to read. John grew very wealthy, and the first thing -he did was to buy the complete works of Shakespeare. He still lives in his little apartment, though, and sometimes listens to the cracks in the ceiling .... Bev, Harrop, 1O:3:9. SKI SHENANIGANS Water-skiing came into my life three years ago when my uncle decided to purchase a 25 horsepower motor and boat. Of course, one thing leads to another, and we soon found ourselves the owners of a pair of water-skis. Well, we had ideal equipment and plenty of enthusiasm, but when you combine these two, you don't necessarily produce champion water-skiers immediately. Since I didn't have any great desire to break the new skis in Cand I mean breaklb, my father was elected by the unanimous decision of one. Because we didn't want to draw attention to our inexperienced efforts, we kept the news to ourselves, except for informing the local town gossips and bel- lowing technical water-skiing terms across the lake to our neighbours. The great day arrived. We had spent a con- siderable amount of time deciding from where we would take off , and the dock was finally selected as our starting and finishing point. The skis were firmly attached to my father's feet and the tow rope was placed securely in his hands. My uncle started the boat, letting out all the slack rope and then jamming the throttle forward to full speed. With a mighty swoosh and a Tarzan bellow, dad literally flew off the dock in a beautiful swan dive, taking several dozen splinters with him. To our great amazement, he then disappear- ed under thc- water, showing only his thin ankles that supported our beautiful new skis. When he reappeared, the skis were floating, but his sense of humour had sunk to the bot- tom with a resounding thud! Although I was temporarily discouraged by this sputtering spectacle, I mounted the skis with grim determination and a gruesome smile. Let 'er rip, were my famous last words! Margaret Young, 10 :3 :12. A LONELY PLACE ? We had decided to go out late that night and attempt to solve the mystery surrounding the castle on the small island out in the bay. As we slowly approached the island, I could see the vast, ancient castle, surrounded by a magic, misty haze. The moon's silvery shine outlined the proud features of the building and gave it a ghost-like appearance. When we had tied the boat, Dick and I slow- ly made our way wp the narrow, winding path leading up to the castle. It was almost mid- night, and I was getting scared. To me, every bush seemed to move, the harmless old trees seemed like human shadows in the moonlight. Suddenly, I let out a loud gasp which sound- ed like thunder in the dead of the night. I had seen a light flash across one of the first floor windows. Dick laughed and said that I was letting my imagination run away with meg but he, too, began to look suspiciously about him after that. We soon stood outside the front door. Dick opened it and went in, and I followed close at his heels. The hall we entered was quite huge, but everything was covered with dust and cob- webs, as if no live human body had been there for centuries. We both had powerful flash- lights with us, but we didn't have to use them since there were some dusty candles lying on a table. As soon as we had lit them we began exploring. A grand stairway led to the second floor. Just below the stairs, there stood an antique, coffin-like trunk. It had many colourful figures carved on it. I started going towards it, then stopped dead in my tracks! The lid had begun to move. I was nailed to the spot . . . my muscles refused to obey me. I opened my mouth to scream, but not a sound came from my lips. The coffin lid was now fully opened, and from it emerged an eighteenth century colonel in full dress uni- form! I recovered my senses and let out a blood-curdling scream which echoed through the halls. I could hear Dick's running footsteps com- ing towards me - when the candles suddenly went out, as if someone -had pulled a switch. I fainted.