Ann Gerike...
Poor
Poor George never could see Mr.
Wright. For a year I tried to make
him see, but the last year I gave
up. I suppose it's just as well; he
probably wouldn't have liked the
old man.
Poor George. I think he thought
I was crazy all along. Mr. Wright
knew I wasnt, of course. George
would tot there and I6wk at me, and
then he'd look through Mr. Wright,
and then he'd look back at me and
shake his head. It really wasn't his
fault. He never did have much
imagination.
I met Mr. Wright one evening
while I was taking my 6 o'clock
walk. I had been sick; the doctor
had said I needed more fresh air,
and so George Insisted that I take
a walk every evening.
I was tired; I hadn't done any
thing all day. I nevr.had anything
to do. I had wanted to work when
we were first married, but George
Wa
rrior's
Hy
by F. X. Ross
I seek no flowered path to tread,
No churchman's plons prayer
Nor maiden fair, nor costumed
day,
Nor tender, lilting air!
For I have cast the gauntlet
down,
And spumed the feeble laws.
While with the fiery Gods I
strive
For US no pact or pause!
Not mine, the way of suffer
ance From that my spirit turns.
My soul but glories in revolt,
And for the conflict yearns!
For man but finds his highest
self
Tn all devouring strife
And, though my fate consume
me quite,
111 lead no other life.
Who takes a maid takes joy, you
say?
Short is that night of pleasure!
For one Who Is of deathless clay
Eternity's the measure.
Who lives with war shall sleep
with her;
That is the ancient rite.
My virgin soul I guard, for her
And that unending night.
would have none of that; no wife of
his would work, he said.
So I quit my job, even quit
doing the small amount of writing
I had done. I really could see no
harm in it: I had always enjoyed
it, but George was firm. George
was always firm.
I Sat down on a bench in the
neighborhood park. For no discerni
ble reason, I suddenly thought of
an old man I had been catching
glimpses of occasionally.
There really was nothing very
distinctive about him; he was tall,
thin, seventy-ish had a rather
large, white moustache and walked
with a slight limp and a cane.
But he drew my attention the
first time I saw him; he was the
kind of man I would have liked to
have put into a story.
I heard steps stop in front of
me and looked up, startled. My
thoughts had materialized!
"How do you do" he said, and
tipped his hat. "My name is Mr.
John Wright. I nope you don't think
I'm being forward, but I take a
walk every evening too, and I
have seen you so often I almost
feel as though I know you." He in
dicated the bench with his cane.
"May I sit down"
"Certainly," I smiled. I was
very pleased. 1 wasn't too sure how
to act; George didn't like to visit
much, so we very seldom had
friends in. We went to church on i
(:::::::::::::::: '
::::::ip
George Is
Sunday, but we always left im
mediately after services. We had
our .Sunday dinner at a certain
restaurant downtown, and always
had the same meal roast beef,
with apple pie for dessert. George
liked roast beef.
With Mr. Wright, however, 1 had
nothing to worry about. He was
very easy to talk to. I had told him
my name, that my husband was
an accountant in the bank, and
that we led a very quiet life at
home when I glanced at my watch
and saw that it was almost seven.
I knew George would be wanting
his supper, so I excused myself
and left.
As I went oack to the little
house, I felt better than I had for
days. George looked up from his
paper, a little irritated, as I came
in. "Where have you been? You're
ten minutes late!"
i met tne nicest old man in
the park today fc Mr. Wright. We
only talked for a little while, but
I felt" I broke off as I noticed
George frowning at me.
"I thought you knew better than
to talk to stranger," he said.
"With all the things that go on
today, you cant trust anyone.
Sometimes I think you have no
more sense than a ten-year old."
I opened my mouth to defend
myself he was such a nice old
man; there couldn't be anything
wrong with him and then I
closed it again It was useless to
argue with George. His attitude
failed to dampen my spirits; I
hummed as I set the table until
George asked me to be a little
quieter. He was trying to read the
evening paper.
The next evening George walked
with me in the park, after he had
come home from work. That had
happened only once after the first
few months in the 15 years we'd
been married. I think he was
afraid I'd been talking to strangers
for years.
We hadn't walked very far when
I saw Mr. Wright coming toward
us. At first sight of him, I had an
urge to turn off into a side path,
and then I thought that if George
could meet him he might decide
that my judgment wasn't so bad
after all.
I smiled, and Mr. Wright smiled
back. George aimost walked right
past him, so I pulled at his arm
and said, "George, I'd like to have
you meet Mr. Wright, the man I
was telling you about last night."
Mr. Wright put out his hand, and
George just stared, first at me,
and then at Mr. Wright. "Shake his
hand, George," I said. "Don't
just stand there."
I think I was almost as startled
as he was. It was the first time
I had snapped at him in ten years.
He turned to me. "Let's go home,"
he said, almost tenderly.
'But" I looked at Mr. Wright
helplessly.
"Dont worry about it," he said.
I don't think your husband is
feeling very well tonight. If you
come out here tomorrow morning
at 10 oclock, we can talk some
more.
I didn't understand what was
going on, but T shrugged my shoul
ders, told him good-by, and turned
and walked on with George.
Though I had learned to sup
press all my emotions quite well in
the years since I had married
-George, his insult to this nice old
man was too much for me. We
walked in silence for a while, and
finally I said, "How could you
be so rude"
He just looked at me again, al
most with the same look he had
had when he told me about the
head teller who had embezzled a
fortune from the bank. Then he
smiled a strained smile and said.
How would you like to eat out
tonight?"
Advantage, You
You'll make more fine shots with these rackets
than any in their class.
The reason? Both the Spalding "kro bat
and the Spalding-made Wright & Ditson da vis
CUP deliver the "feel" you mu?t have for full
power and better control.
Both come in every weight and grip size far
better tennis, match after match.
Use Spalding-made tennis balls. They're offi
cial for more major tournaments than all other
brands combined.
Blind
"Oh, no," t protested. "I'd have
to change clothes and I'm sure
there wouldn't be any room left
at our usual restaurant."
"Why should we eat there Let's
eat somewhere eise for a change.
How about that Italian restaurant
on 16th Street''
I star?d at him. could no more
imagine George and I eating at a
different restaurant than well,
than I could oee him turning som
ersaults down the sidewalk.
Mr. Wright ,iad said that George
Wasn't feeling well. Maybe he was
beginning to crack under the strain
of his work.
I decided I had better humor
him, so we went back, got in the.
car, and went out xor dinner.
George was .nore talkative than
he had been in years. He told me
about the bank affairs, going
into a great amount of detail, seem
ing to grasp for something to say,
trying to talk continually.
I was actually rather bored.
Business had never interested me
too much. I had liked to read. I
had liked concert? and plas. There
had been times when I wondered
wnai naa attracted me to ueorge,
rT.m,t0,r me- !loved the same kind of music I
I think I appreciated his steadi- j did. 0n an impulse - invited him
ness and he .iked my quiet per-; up t0 the nouse , had , rather CQm.
sonahty; he couldn't stand women ! plete collection of records which
who chattered. Though my mindlj Diaved. of COiirse. onlv whfn 1
was still on the old man, I lis
tened as attentively as possible.
Finally, the meal was over, and
I was preparing to go home when
George asked if I would like to
go to a movie.
"George, what is the matter
with you. Ever since we met Mr.
Wright in the park"
"But, dear'' he frowned, shook
his head, and then aid slowly,
"There was no old man in the
park."
Poor George. He was sick. I
looked at him closely, then smiled
and said we had better go home.
He'd probably had a hard day at
work. I took his arm and we walked
out of the restaurant.
He didn't sleep very well that
night. I felt sorry for him, but I
didn't worry much He had always
been such a dependable man; I
just couldn't see him losing his
sanity.
By morning he was more natu
ral. He didn't speak to me over
THE FEAST
God is a carpernter,
The Devil a walrus. .
We are the oysters . . .;
they will eat all of us!
what if God does eat more than
the Devil?
Still the- Devil will get all he
can . ;
The only real choice for the won
and the lost
Is whether or not they like
Worcestershire Sauce!
F. X. Ross
the breakfast table; he gave me
his usual quick kiss and good-by
before he walked out of the door.
I felt extraordinarily good. I was
looking forward to seeing Mr.
Wright in the park.
At a quarter of ten I unplugged
the iron and walked in the direc
tion of the park. Mr. Wright was
waiting at our bench. It was a nice
morning, and we began to talk
about the weather. Then he told
me about his mountain-climbing
in the Alps, about his travels in
Europe. '
I had never before met a more
interesting man. He had done the
things I had wanted to do all my
life, and he had such an inter
esting manner of speaking, I felt as
though I had been there with him.
Somehow the conversation
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unit man on campus
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U'U FLUNK fORTM5-TK 5uPPO3eDTO'PKKUP,(?OCKS-N0r DIG FOR tM.1
i f KsiippH in m.W,t and I found ho
was home alone
George could see no sense in the
conglomeration of noises and the
voices screeching for hours in
some language no one could un
derstand. Mr. Wright and I put
on a stack of records and sat and
listened with speakLig.
I asked him to stay for lunch,
but he said he thought he'd better
go home before they started to
worry about him. I invited him to
come back the next day. .
When Georg came home, he
seemed to be waiting for me to
say something. I didn't tell nim
about Mr. Wrght's visit; I was
afraid it might upset him again.
Later that tvening, however,
there was a knock on the door,
and I opened it to Mr. Wright.
George seemed not to have heard
the knock, but be turned when 1
said, "Why. hello! Come in.
please."
Again he gave me that strange
stare, and then he got up, came
over and stood beside me, and
said, pronouncing each word dis
tinctly, "Dear, there is no one
there." He reached out as though
to prove it, and his hand touched
Mr. Wright's, but be seemed to
feel nothing.
Suddenly, he turned and walked
out the door, returning in five min
utes with the neighbor, whom we
knew only slightly. I began to in
troduce him to Mr. Wright, but he
gave me the same odd stare that
George had given me and said
nothing. George mumbled some
thing about "not feeling well . . .
dizzy spells . . . thanks," and al
most pushed the neighbor out of
the door.
They just couldn't do this to Mr.
Wright! If they chose to ignore
him, that was their business, but
I wasn't going to desert him. I
had enjoyed nis company very
much, and he was a lonely, friend
less person.
"I'm sorry. George." I said.
"I'll take Mr. Wright into the other
room. You go ahead and read your
paper."
I hoped Mr. Wright wouldnt feel
hurt because of the incident, but
he said he was jsed to such things;
old people are often ignored.
About two o'clock, he decided to
leave, so I walked with him to the
door. When I had closed it after
him, I turned to George and said,
"I think I'll go to bed. Good night,
yyY::- 1
by Dick Bibler
dear."
The tortured look in his eyes
worried me. I wanted to say some
thing to make him feel better, but
he had never been an easy man
to talk to.
My visits with Mr Wright be
came a daily occurrence. He gen
erally came when George wasnt
around, but Geo.gt knew he had
been coming, though he didn't
know how often. One evening about
three months after I had met Mr.
Wright, George brought a psychi
atrist to the house.
When I introduced him to Mr.
Wright, he held out his hand and
pretended he saw someone. I knew
he was only pretending, because he
missed Mr. Wright's hand entirely.
You may think it should have
TO A FRIEND
I thought I saw a nightingale
Warbling to the sky.
It was nothing but a sparrow.
I have a faulty eye.
Now I see a river
Filled from shore to shore.
New I see on closer look.
A void and nothing more.
Now I see a pedant
Prating to the throng.
Now I see an ostrich,
A bird without a song.
Don Auld
disturbed me to know that no one
else could see Mr. Wright, but it
didn't. I simply accepted him as a
friend.
I realized that his presence em
barrassed George, so I didn't talk
to him or about him in public. It
didn't bother Mr Wright either.
He was a very good-hearted gentle
man. The psychiatrist and George
asked me u I would object to going
to a hospital. I told them I really
felt fine and saw no necessity for
it, but if it would make George
happy, I would go. George had
been terribly jumpy, especially
when I talked to Mr Wright.
One evening he had gotten out
of his chair, stalked into the room
where Mr. Wright and I were talk
ing, and threatened to throw him
out. Mr. Wright said good night
and left immediately, saving
George the embarrassment of try
ing to throw out someone he
couldn't see.
Before Mr. Wright left that night,
I asked him to visit me in the hos
pital, and he promised that he
would.
ont. on Page S.
When
WHO'S A GEJSWS?
Place: a coffee shop on any campus in the United States.
Time: Seven-thirty on a Friday nignt in May.
The curtain goes up. iPantomime would probably be as effective M
the dialogue which follows.)
First Student: Arent you going to the lecture?
Second Student: Cant. I've got a term paper due Monday. Are you?
First S: Of course. Any tit major just has to go-it's the major event
of the year. , . ...
Third Student: Frankly, I think he's greatly overrated. Most of his
poetry is mediocre, and he cant seem to choose between realism
and fantasy, and that latest play-good heavens, it's no more a
true tragedy than Death of a Salesman!
Fourth Student: I cant agree with you-they say that he is a won-
derful lecturer, and I personally think that his last play is the
height of his career.
It shows both more and less depth than any of his other work. I think
' that he was laughing at the audience when" he wrote it, explain.
ing the action neatly, and leaving everything else unsaid.
First S: I suppose you're going to say that Williams is a good dram-
Fourth's: ot necessarily. The only analogy that I could draw would
be between their sincerity as artists, and perhaps as frustrated
Williams writes for himself and all artists of ilk while Shakespeare
has a somewhat broader appeal. I think that he is following the
right track because art is going to lose its importance if tn
majority of the people cant understand it on at least one level.
First S: Come on, we'll all be late.
Second S: Well, back to the old typewriter.
The curtain gote down permanently.
VerncI Equinox .
Cont. from Page S.
the stupor characteristic of the
last stages, tremendous re
luctance to attend class, write
papers, or do other classroom
assignments, a peculiar and
driving thirst for certain com
mercial "beervrages," uncon
trollable desire to acquire a sun
burn or tan, and desire for com
panionship with others afflicted,
preferably on a sandy beach.
These symptoms are apparent
during the hours between 10 a.m.
and 5 p.m. From 5 p.m. to S
a.m. there is a peculiar loss of
fatigue accompanied by sudden
bursts of energy and enthusiastic
irresponsibility which prompt the
enthusiastic irresponsibility which
prompt the sufferer to indulge
in activities which would riot nor
mally have any lasting appeal to
him. The third phase of the dis
ease occurs from approximately
S a.m. until 10 a.m., during which
time the victim loses conscious
ness in a coma from which it is
relatively impossible to rouse
him.
There are, of course, varying
degrees of these symptoms, and
it is not unusual to observe con
tradicting symptoms. In extreme
ly rare cases on record, the vic
tim has behaved in a manner
diametrically opposed to that
commonly observed.
These rare cases find a surplus
of energy which leads them to
excel in academic work, and
even to relieve tensions caused by
this infusion of energy by doing
more than is required for certain
courses.
These cases are, indeed, not
only extremely rare, but usually
short-lived, since the sudden
abundance of energy is all too
often replaced by either the more
unusual symptoms or by a se
vere case of infectious mononu
cleosis. The debilitating effects of VEF
are both physical and mental.
Mental results of a siege of the
disease are indistinguishable
from those of its closely allied
malady, senioritis. Generally, the
student no longer manifests any
interest in classes, campus af
fairs, and certain social situa
tions. The student who has formerly
been active and interested in ac
tivities feels a revulsion at what,
in his unnatural state, he labels
dirty politics or busy work. His
former co-workers become "glory
grubbers," or bluffers.
The student who bas been ac
tive in a social sorority or
Spring's in the
And you haven't a care,
Enjoy pleasure rare -have a CAMEL!
Nancy Rodgert
fraternity is no longer moved out
of his lethargy by suggestions
that he do something "for the
good of the house." Often he
manifests an unnatural interest
in current national and interna
tional affairs, job possibilities,
politics and economic condi
toins which normally belong the
the "outside world."
He may, upon occasion, dem
onstrate a familiarity with such
practical matters as his ability
to support himself or to evaluate
his habits and friends, m'hich is
commonly far removed from the
mind of the average, healthy un
dergraduate. Methods of curbing VEF are
still in the experimental stage.
However, a treatment tbus far
found to be most satisfactory is,
upon having been infected, to
allow oneself to succumb to the
early effects while attempting to
maintain as normal behavior as
possible.
It has been proved that those
who appear strongest and most
adamant against the disease suf
fer the most serious effects when
they do succumb. A sort of re
laxed enjoyment of the early
effects, in most cases, prevents
the advance of the disease to the
secondary stages.
The one method discovered for
avoiding contagion is' rather ex
P?neive and o,uite unpleasant.
That is, to remove oneself from
sources of infection. This means
transferring from a Midwestern
campus to a school such as the
University of Alaska where the
vernal equinox brings little
change in the climate and the
rigors of the north leave little
chance for the disease to Infect
students.
Some attention, however,
should be given to annual out
breaks of autumnal equinoxical
fever which occur in this region.
If one cannot afford the expendi
ture of time and money involved
in such a transfer, the only other
possibility is to depend on
strength of will and avoid dan
gerous situations. This method
gives very little surety of suc
cess. While scientists search fever
ishly for the solution to the prob
lem of vernal equinoxical fever,
campuses all over the nation are
operating on a slowed schedule,
hoping to reach the Commence
ment date before the new plague
reaches 100 per cent epidemie
proportions.
air
SPALDING
SETS THE PACE IN SPORTS
Jka-wjxiite w.wvtayJaa.J.if . ... -
