Monday, December 19/1960
On December 6th, Dirty Jordan and Old Station met Oareer Road
in a cold sweat. At the 'waking of the street light a ’59 Chevy, low and
blue, played nosy barber to a tan Mercury which pirouetted to the rail
from a clipping on its right flank. Two jockies left for a sudden session
with the AMA stitching-and-knitting circle and a third offered feebly,
“It all happened so fast that...” It is a stock phrase meaning that hard
drivers and hard-nosed power still use horses in this jet-age race, al
though more of them are crowded under the hood; that, shielded by the
steering wheel, rides the horses’ near-kin, the Distributor of horse-meat
who is foot-poised to butcher any number of plays, at any old inter
section, on any kind of track.
In the race between the “animals” on either side of the windshield,
the odds favor the outside members. The world feels for the two of you,
most variable of “animals,” the hard-nosed barber and the butcher of
horse-meat. For some of your photo-finishes are dead heats. The world
knows that in- this dynamic age of jet-age teamsters, though the aggres
sive hoof is poised, the pavement is not getting any softer.
THE LAST WORD
A preacher recently announced
there are 726 sins. He is now being
besieged by requests for the list by
people who think that they are
missing something."
While discussing a former date
who was a rather flighty and im
mature young lady, a college stu
dent confides to friends, “I liked
her very much when I first met
her, but she talked me out of it.”
An African eager to learn about
democracy was having difficulty
with the idea of taxation as prac
ticed by a government “of, by and
for the people.” -Suddenly the light
dawned. “I see,” he said. “It means
that if I want to give my dog a
nice piece of fresh meat, I just
take a knife and chop off part of
his tail.”
Did you ever hear about the
pseudo-snobby clique of Dorm Girls
who drive the decent girls into
tears by making beds with fish
food, rolling tin' cans across the
floor to encourage sleep; talking
into the wee later hours when no
classes are scheduled to disturb
post-breakfast sleep, and creating
all the childish, petty jealousies
and retaliations that make life so
enjoyable ?
Funny thing about trouble it
always starts out being fun.
At a well-known campus, the
“Scrooge” of its facilities, who puts
an iron cage oyer the thermostat
to regulate non-heat in below-zero
bedrooms and locks the linen closet
against normal, hygienic use of
towels and sheets, is, come to find
out, regarded by some as quite a
THE NITTANY CUB
talented and frugal conservative.
One cave man to another, “Don’t
tell me there’s no connection. We
never used to have weather like
this before they started using bows
and arrows!”
Then there is the tragic story of
two deserving young men who, in
college by the skin of their finan
cial teeth, applied for jobs In the
campus cafeteria and were turned
down in favor of high school girls.
Signs at Erie’s Glenwood Zoo in
dicate “pidgeons”, “racoon's”, “par
rakeets” and a “lama”. And sure
enough, there stand pigeons, rac
coons, parakeets and, not a llama
but a white donkey. How very edu
cational for the kiddies! (Don
Lambert, Morning News).
Last, but not least, is the Ten
nessee Williams type of character
whose fecal mind is active in the
pursuit of scandal. She has a re
sponsible job in a certain type of
housing development where she
comes in daily contact with many
gullible and receptive young ladies.
She practically begins each day by
asking, “Well, are any of you preg
nant yet?” She does everybody’s
work but her own and lives every
body’s private life to the greater
edification of her own emotions.
“Nature he loved, and next to na
ture nudes,
He strove with every woman worth
the strife,
Warming both cheeks before the
fire of life,
And fell, doing battle with a mil
lion prudes.
(Lawrence Durrell - Clea)
Behrendßriefs
The Trustees’ Building Commit
tee on Friday, December 2, ap
proved the preliminary plans for
our new academic building and au
thorized the architectural firm of
Brennan & Brennan to proceed
with detailed plans and solicitation
of bids. It is hoped that final bids
will be in by March, so that ground
may be broken for the new build
ing in April.
Beginning in the Fall 'Semester,
1961, Behrend will offer the Asso
ciate Degree program in Business
Administration. Final details for
the offering of this program are in
the process of being concluded.
The office and all buildings will
be closed for the Christmas vaca
tion as follows: beginning at 5
p.m. Thursday, December 22
through Tuesday, December 27.
The office will also be closed on
Monday, January 2.
Applications are being accepted
for tickets to the gymnastics com
petition and exhibition by United
States and Russian teams in Rec
reation Building on the Main Cam
pus, January 14, 1961. Mail appli
cations will be accepted in the Ath
letic Association office, 249 Recrea
tion Building, until 5 PM., Friday,
January 6. Reserved seats are
§3.00 each and general admission
seats are $2.00. Applications by
mail should also add a 25-cent
handling charge to each order.
Each applicant will be limited 'to
two tickets.
Penn State has slipped to 12th
place in full-time enrollment
among the nation’s colleges and
universities in spite of an increase
of more than a thousand students
in this category over last year. In
diana University, which last year
was twelfth, increased by 1,465 to
17,890, while Penn State increased
to 17,767. The University of Cali
fornia has the largest enrollment,
followed by the State University of
New York.
Blinding spirals of swirling snow
Batter the buildings and streets below.
Moaning winds from ethereal throats
Ravage a derelict’s tattered coat.
Tortured, wine-soaked derelict
Of skeletal frame and serpentine neck,
Gaping jaw and staring eyes,
Tortured visage of grim surprise,
Feeling now the bleak dismay
Of traveling toward his grave today.
Clutching his coat, facing the wind,
Chilled without and'numb within.
The preacher, today, in the brass buttoned blouse
Shall eulogize him at the mission house.
He’ll meet his fate estranged from fear,
He’s walked .with death for many a year.
Dean Lane
Hosts Lit. Club
“Images of His Boyhood” was
the subject of Dean B. A. Lane’s
informal discussion of the Welsh
poet, Dylan Thomas, presented to
members of Behrend’s Literary
Club at his home on Sunday, the
11th.
Dean Lane prefaced the discus
sion with a few comments on the
personal life and literary merits
of Dylan Thomas and continued the
afternoon’s presentation -with a
reading and interpretation of two
Thomas poems: Poem in October
and Fern Hill. The program con
cluded with a recorded recitation
of the author reading his poem
Fern Hill and his prose recollec
tion, A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
Refreshments were served during
the program and the warm and
gracious hospitality of the Lanes
was thoroughly enjoyed by all who
attended.
.Dylan Thomas was bom in Car
marthenshire, Wales, and was one
of the finest lyric poets of our
time. His work is modem and ad
vanced, stemming from Freud,
Joyce, Gerard Manley Hopkins and
the Bible. He was a bom language
lover and language-juggler and he
had a genius for making common
place phrases glitter and shine in
a magic all their own.. Perhaps the
most balanced estimate of why he
chose to write poetry are concealed
in six short lines offiiis own poem,
“In My Craft or Sullen Art”:
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the stmt and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their (the lovers) most secret
heart.
Derelict Dirge
By JOHN REEDER