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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1945-03-15, Page 9THE TIMES-ADVOCATE, EXETER ONTARIO, THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 15, 1945 P«W« 7!*?*!»• “LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT % efsARLES SPALDJMC* X and A CHAPTER X OTIS CAR'NEV/ basic the sir/’ take ‘What he the “he “Oh,” I said. “That's the damndest thing I ev­ er heard,” he said, getting some­ what redder, “A man in doesn't know how to take brakes off.” “Nobody ever showed me, I said lamely. “Everybody knows how to the brakes off,” he barked, sort of technique is this? What would you do in the ‘unpredict­ able’?” he sneered. "What’s your name?” “Dowd, sip. Class 10-D.” “Oh, no!” he groaned. “Dowd, Class 10-D, Squadron 12-A?” he asked fearfully. “Yes, sir,” I said wretchedly. He turned away, and then whirl­ ed on me. “It’s the damdest thing I ever heard. You’re not safe to solo, I’m going to ground you, Dowd. You’ll have to go before the Board.” He walked off in rage. “You two go back together. I’ll take this plane,” he called back. After he had gone the cadet and I stood and glared at each other. “And what’s your name, little man?” I asked. “Strilini, Dimitri Strilini,” said. “Are you with the Allies?” We walked silently toward plane. “You know,” said Strilini, told me I acted like a veteran. Boy, when I saw your plane down, I tore right back to the squadron. Guess that showed style, huh? I’ll fly back,” he said airily. I looked searchingly at the ground. It was a beautiful, smooth field. There was not a rock on it. Mr. Kenwood proved as good as his word. He promptly summoned me to appear before the Board’s regular 'Monday morning session and explain my deficiency with the brakes. Going Before the Board was se­ rious business. It was trouble. The Board acted as a high court. If a cadet was unable to meet his flying requirements, or if he was guilty of' some outlandish aerial escapade, he was haled before the Board. For instance, Heinie Tile flew under a railroad bridge. He went before the Board. There the records were carefully examined and the defend­ ant’s argument heard. If the case went against you, the cadet was “washed out” and his ‘flying career terminated as of that date. The­ oretically, you could go beyond the Board and appeal to the Admiral. This was attempted occasionally, and sometimes successfuly, by will­ ful individuals who would not take “no” for an answer. If the Admiral turned you down, I suppose it was within your rights to go on to Wash­ inton and appeal to the Chief Ex­ ecutive. It. had never been done. For the rank and file, the Board’s word was final. Some day, how­ ever, an enterprising cadet is go­ ing to* get extra time from Mrs. Roosevelt. News of my predicament spread rapidly. The fighting fifth battalion was behind me to a man. They were sympathetic, but powerless. Several privately confessed they did not know how to release the brakes themselves. They thanked their gods the “unpredictable” had not 'turned on them as it had on me. “You’re a victim of circum­ stance,” grieved Red Run. “They’re making an example of you,” was the way Rocky Tard grimly analyzed the situation. To Rocky, who was influenced by several years in a West , Virginia coal union, it was a case of exploi­ tation by a privileged commissioned minority. Sunday night when things looked very black, Rocky jumped Highland Cedar FENCE POSTS LARGE RUN Sound, Straight and Peeled AT LOWER PRICES A. J. CLATWORTHY We Deliver Phone 12 up like Qleon addressing the Athe­ nians. He outlined the pressure of Unity, explained the right to strike, and closed with the oft-quoted "United we stand!” Eventually, cooler heads won the meeting. Red Run pointed out that in the Navy, “United, we gp tQ Portsmouth.” Organized dissent is mutiny, Of course^ the proposed walk-out never came off, and it is well that it did not, Labor never would have forgiven us. The next morning I dressed in my blues. You were required to go before tlie Board shined and pol­ ished, and it was to your advantage to do so. To some extent the deci­ sion was influenced by the defend­ ant’s bearing. “Just turn on the old military charm,” advised Tim Carpenter, I arrived at the Administration Building a few minutes before eight. The secretary, who worp her blonde hair in a pile on top of her head, was flitting around the table placing the chairs and arranging papers. I asked her -to give me some .idea of the execution, and she outined the entire procedure. “Lieutenant Commander Wells, the squadron’s 'skipper, sits at the head of the table. Lieutenant Com­ mander Kenwood sits here, Lieuten­ ant Commandei’ Wright, in charge of ground school, sits here, Lieuten­ ant Commandei’ Apelgate, in 'charge of cadets, sits here, and Ensign Higg sits here.” “What happened to Higs?” I asked. “He’s the' psychiatrist,” she said 1»PVPT»PT1 tlv “What’s he doing here?” “He knows more about you than you know about yourself. IF'reud and all that.” Her gestures encom­ passed the arcane. “You don’t know how much of that is hound up in our everyday Navy life. You better go out in the hall and wait. They’ll be here any minute.” There was -one case before mine1. One cadet kept getting airsick every time li*e flew. Nobody wanted him around, and he himself was anxious to take up something else. “I think I’ll get a commission,” he 'confided excitedly before going in to hear the Board’s decision. When he came out he was deathly pale. , “They’re going to make tests on me,” Ke said faintly. I heard from him later. He was sent to an experimental field, where his unfortunate talents were given full play. He was used as a guinea pig by a doctor who was doing re­ search for the Navy in nausea, simple sentence spoke only too sently: “I’ve been up every week.” My name was called, in straight, and stiff as spent four years at Culver. “Aviation Cadet Lester Class 10-D,” I announced properly. “Oh, yes,” said the skipper, thumbing through papers. While he studied the briefs, the rest of the panel stared silently at me. At first I employed a sweep­ ing gaze that flashed around the table like a beacon. After a few sweeps I realized this gave them the advantage of concentrated fire, and I shifted to a steady eye. I could turn hack everybody except the psychiatrist. He sat closest to me, He was a thin, wasted man with glasses. There was ,an empty expression of intense kindness on. his face. I tried for two minutes steadily to break him down, but it was no us. I went back to shoot­ ing down the others individually. “Sit down, Dowd,” said Mr. Wells. “Thank you, sir.” “What’s this about the brakes?” he asked petulantly. i “I didn’t know how to unlock them, sir,” I confessed. “Yes, you did,’ he insisted im­ patiently. He swung sideways on his chair, raised his feet off the floor, and waggled them in even unlocking motions. “That’s all you do. You know how to do that.’ “I didn’t then.” “You did, too!” he thundered. “Anybody can do that any time. Kenwood can do it, Wright can do it, Apelgate can do it,” he roared, pointing around the table. “Higs can do it," he added as jin after­ thought, motioning to the a trist. “Nobody told me how, tried to explain. “Nobody has to. tell you like that!” bellowed Mr, “You do it naturally.” , There was a lull. Everybody seemed to feel the skipper was es­ sentially right but that somehow the truth had not Been completely revealed. Ensign Higs leaned, for- ward. “Was there something on your mind?” he asked softly. The question was aimed point­ blank at, the unconscious. If I said it would convey the impres- 4 ay I if One elo- I thisV walked I had -Dowd, psychi- sir,’1 I a thing Wells. Granton Eczema or Salt Rheum Eczema, or salt rheum as it is commonly called, is one of the most painful of all skin troubles. The intense burning, itching and smarting, espe­ cially at night, or. when the affected part is exposed to heat, or the hands placed in hot water are most un­ bearable, and relief is gladly welcomed. The relief offered by Burdock Blood Bitters is based on the knowledge that such ailments as eczema, and other skin troubles, are caused by an impure blood condition. Bring* about inner cleanliness by using B. B. B. to help cleanse the blood of its imparities. Ask at any drug counter for B. B. B. Price $1.00 a hottie, Thtf T. MUburft Co.,- Limited, Toronto, 'Ont. Sion of an old, vacant lot, everybody would lose interest, trial was going against me, "Come, now/ what was qn mind?’ he said again, feeling UL this was definitely the psychiatrist’s province, “Those Nicean barks of yore,” I said slowly. If he wanted wheels within wheels, he would get them. “Nicean barks of yore!” he cried. Everybody leaned toward the psy­ chiatrist fpr an interpretation. I nodded, “It wasn’t your mother,or; a cou­ sin?” he probed. ’ I think it' was Mr, Higs’ first chance to prove himself and he was banking heavily on a standard fixation. The secretary watched in­ tently, convinced there was a lot of ‘‘that’’ bound up in my every­ day Navy life. “What’s all this got to do with it, Higs?” snapped Mr, Wells, who had no use for the psychiatrist. “If a man can’t think of Nicean what­ ever and release the brakes too”— he waggled his feet some more— “then the Navy doesn’t want him.” “Dowd, you wait outside a min­ ute,” urged Mr, Higs. After I closed the door, the dis­ cussion mounted and fell in waves ■on Mr. Higs. I could hear the mut­ tered rumblings as the Board fought to a just decision. There was a copy of the Corpus Christi Caller Times on the sofa. I turned to the editorial page and the opinions of great minds as another might reach for aspirin. There she was, a highly, bulwark. I read, “Today I went to see the government work­ ers' club established in Mrs. Eve­ lyn Walsh McLean’s garage.” If she could save Mrs. McLean, she could save me. Farther on the column continued: “I walked to the White House to find it was rapidly getting colder. When I opened my windows last night, looked out at the solitary sentries, who are al­ ways the last human beings I see at night and the first I see in the morning, I wished I could do some­ thing to keep them warm. In moments of stress one is apt to distort his personal problem, but if it came to the worst I deter­ mined then and there to go to her. I would not shove in ahead of the Camp Fire Girls. I would wait pa­ tiently in line with Mrs. Evelyn Walsh McLean, confident that nei­ ther Board, nor brakes, nor bleary- eyed psychiatrists could harm me as long as she was there. And she promised to be time. “Mr. Dowd,” I walked into assurance. ■Mr. Wells rose. Ensign Higs stood over ‘by a window, his hands behind his back. It appeared that Ris vote had not been counted. ’ “Aviation Cadet Dowd,” began Lieutenant’ Commandei’ Wells, “it cost the Navy twenty-seven thou­ sand dollars to train you. To date we have squandered approximately fourteen thousand to’ that purpose. It is the considered opinion of this Board that we are in too deep to expel you, and therefore we have decided in spite of the risk, to con­ tinue your flight training.” “Thank you, sir,” I, beamed. On, iny way out, Mr. Wells called: “Dowd, about those Nicean barks. Couldnt’ you, wouldn’t you . . “Yes sir,” I said, and left. V. * * . I once took some Vocational tests at the Stevens institute in Hobok­ en. The results proved to every­ body’s satisfaction that as far as science cotild tell I haft ho scientific bent whatsoever. If any additional evidence were necessary, I remem­ ber Mr. Glossup, back at Anacostia, was “moved to Shout at ine, “There is not a mechanical gene in your entire make-up!” I believe there was one in the beginning, but it collapsed early in life when Father kept bringing me “Zeus Chemical Sets” to play with. Like many forward-thinking men he believed science might yet save us, and he was determined I should know about it. Sometimes he brought home two sets ' a week. Nobody in the household dared throw the things out for fear they might “go off”. Consequently they piled up untouched in my room until one rainy afternoon I turned to the compounds in desperation for amusement. I decided to con-'; coct some green ink, the -young Edi­ son’s equivalent of baking-powder biscuits. There were four separate experiments, but each one turned out brown, made a stain, and smelled; With this behind me, I antici­ pated m ent there pure bottle. Stated in broad terms, the aim of the instrument . squadron was to teach a mechanical method of overcoming obstacles of night flying and bad weather and also show one how to handle a radio range. Everbody had trouble with the course, but I died a little. I left a dubious record behind, how­ ever, Nobody has yet approached the cock-eyed splendor of my first attempt in the Link Trainer (To Bo Continued) Smiles your that Hay Council The Council of the Township of Hay met in the Council Chambers 'Zurich, pn Monday, March 5th, 1945 at 1,30 p.m, as a Court of Revision to consider appeals against the Truemper Drain By-law, The only appeal entered was dealt with as follows: “That Court Of Revision on by-law 1H5 on the Truemner Drain be adjourned until April 2? 1945, at which time the Engineer, T, R. Patterson will present a re­ port on the Albert Snrerus appeal. That James Masse’s application fpr Road Superintendent for Hay Township be accepted and that he be paid 50 cents per hour, mileage included. Appointment to be con­ firmed py by-law. That the Drainage petition as handed in by Bruce Tuckey, Leon­ ard Greb, John Triebner, William Northcott and others be accepted and forwarded to T, Jt, Patterson to present a report at earliest op­ portunity. That Albert Heideman be paid $3.00 for rent of home and John Suplat’s allowance be set it $25.00 per month. This to remain ih force till June meeting. That rate of pay for cutting weeds with mower be set at $1,00 per hour man, team and mower, same to be confirmed by by-law. That two notices be inserted in sufficient papers advertising for contracts to 'crush and haul gravel on Hay Township Roads, per yard per mile, contractor tp supply crusher. Township to supply one truck. Tenders to be in the Clerk’s office by March 24th, 1945, by March 24th, 1945. That amendment to Bender Drain by-law No. 18,. 1944, re section 305 (15) of the Municipal Act be ad­ vertised in the Ontario Gazette. By­ law to be drawn up to incorporate changes made. That payments on Twp. roads, re­ lief/ Hay Munic. Telephone System and General Accounts be passed as per voucher: Twp. Roads—Jas. Masse $51.50; Maurice Masse 76.40; Wm. Decker 3.50; Milt Deitz 17.90; L. A. Prang & Son 37.89; Wm. Jennison 70.00; Harry Zimmer 7.5 0; J. Gascho & Son 15.75; H. W. Brokenshire 8.32; Huron Expositor 1.00; Alphonse Masse '81.60; Glen Dietz 18.40; Steve Suplat 8.80; Dom. Road Mach. Co. 7.6’9; Johnston & Kalbfleisch 18.15; Arnold ‘Merner 5.00; ’ •Neeb 53.25; “ 130.00; Geh. Total $638,03. Relief—John _ _ Kleinstiver $10.00; Morris benom- me 25.00; A. Heideman, rent 3.00. ORDER Your Shur-Gain Fertilizer 4 Avoid having to take green fertilizer later being able to get it all. Railway cars for shipping are on-or not » becoming exceedingly scarce CANN & SONS Exeter, Ontario Herb Passmore’s Garage Supply Co. 25.38. Suplat $25.00; L. Total $63.00. Hay Telephone—H. W. Broken- shire $129.03; Bell Tele. 320.81; Stromberg Carlson 50.64; Northern Electric Co. 193.90; H. G. Hess 235.65; T. H. Hoffman 235.65. General Acct. — H. W. Broken- shire $132.52; Johnbton &, Kalb- fleisch 2.68; Treas. Huron Co. 5.00; Provincial Treasurer, insulin 5.79; Miss Lillie MacPherson 8.65; Hay Stationery 5.20 J. Lovell Co. 10.12; Huron Expositor 16.25. Total $186.21. That the meeting be adjourned to meet again on Monday, April 2nd, at "1.30 p.m. H. W. Brokenshire, Clerk, William H. Haugh, Reeve. The steamship and electricity­ in 100 world’s amount veloped years—have multiplied commerce to 3 0 times that the sailing vessel in 3500. the the de­ the toe to the sock,Said “Let me through, let me through!” Said the sock to the toe, “I’ll be darned if I do. No man realizes how little knows until his children get enough to ask him questions. he old NOT DESTROY said the secretary, the room with new the difficulties of the instru- squadron, a technical hell if was evei’ one. 'the work was scieiice from the top of the there a long, long auor Control B<of Ontario to Individual Liquor Permit Holders your present individual Liquor Permit Liquor Permits will be extended (not re-issued) to March 31st, 1946 on application and payment of $1.00 at any Liquor Control Board Store on and after March 19th, 1945. The decision to extend the use of the present effect a substantial saving in paperpermits will and printing costs, and is in keeping with present day conservation policies. WILLIAM G. WEBSTER Chief Commissioner The rookie had fired 40 rounds without hitting the target, “Where the devil are your shots going?” yelled the captain. Pack came the answer, ‘’You’ve 'got hie, All I know is that they’re leaving here all right,”