1938
1938
CLASS NOTES
The Classes
I truly was born in the wrong era—I would have given anything to live in simpler times; but, who knows, to those living at that time, perhaps they were not as simple as they appear.
A memory in a letter from the past: “Well, Easter vacation is over and the College is once more urging that we take a serious attitude toward life. Two more months and I’ll be a sophomore—perhaps!
“April in New Hampshire is a slightly eccentric month. It lacks self-control. Wasn’t there an old Greek figure who could change himself into a snake, or a horse, or a salamander, or a board-walk, or a set of false teeth at will? Well, April in Hanover is like that!
“It was the same in the mountains. One day the sun would be out, the snow melting, the ski trails rapidly becoming a wasteland of stumps and mud. Then suddenly, the sky would cloud over and a cold, snow-charged wind would tear your hair out.
“I decided to go skiing on the few days of vacation and we stayed in a little town called Gorham [New Hampshire], It is perhaps a 20-minute drive into Pinkham Notch, where a good part of the spring skiing centers. To make a long story short, shortly after I made my graceful descent, I was just standing still at the bottom when a damsel came hurtling down the slope at me, legs apart, arms out, and hair flying. As the sun was warm, she had injudiciously dressed herself in no more than a modified sort of wo men’s underwear (or what I judge to be female under apparel) — Coney Island style! She let her skis debate about a direction and they comprised on me. I didn’t know which way to jump; she was coming in all directions at once. Seeing that we would meet, and violently, she sat down and scraped a long groove in the snow with those nice shorts. Ah me! Tsk! Tsk! Look out! Bang! The Ravine rocked with delight. I got to my feet and tried to help her up, but she jumped up angrily. Why don’t you look where you are going, she glared, shaking the cold snow from her garments.
“Tuckerman is dangerous, certainly, but do you wonder why I wanted to spend the vacation there?”
Moral ofthe story: Maybe they weren’t simpler times after all—and perhaps nothing really changes after all. Enjoy your spring!
—Jean M. Francis, 2205 Boston Road 0-139, Wilbraham, MA 01095; jmfcarmel@charter.net
Jean M. Francis
