Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, June 07, 1963, Image 4

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"Everyone la SouthcnTOrcgoa"
Rgadi Tne Mail Tribune"
Published Daily except Saturday bj
MEDKORD PRINTING CO
33 North fir St, Ph. 77H-S141
""ROBERT W ROHU Editor
HERB GREY AdverUttns MuHll
CERALD T LATHAM. Bui Mir
ERIC ALLEN JR. Mne Editor
EARL H ADAMS, City Editor
HAKRV CHIPMAN, Teleg Editor
RICHARD JEWETT. Sporu Edltoi
OLIVE STARCHES Women's Edltoi
C ALE ERICKSON. ClrculaUon Ml
FRIDAY. JUNE 7. 18E3
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON
An Independent Newspapei
Entered as second claas matter at
Medlord Oregon unaer nci oi
March 3, 1887
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Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the titer of Tha
Mail Trlhune 10. 20. 30. 40
and SO years ago.
In the Communications column today appear
a couple of letters which deal with the racial
problems of the nation both of them dispar
aging the character of Negroes as a whole, one
of them deploring the "forced social entry" of
colored people into provinces long the exclusive
domain of white people. "On this I stand up to
be counted," the latter concludes.
We too stand up to be counted on the side
of simple justice.
Unless one can argue, in the face of the U. S.
Constitution, the laws of the land, the findings
of science, and the conscience of morality, that
people with colored skins are not human beings
and therefore not citizens of the United States
one can come to no other conclusion than that
they like all other citizens are entitled to
equal treatment under the law.
a e e e
THE CURRENT disturbances are not men
scattered evidences of dissatisfaction. They
are far more than that.
They are part of a time people's revolution
t levuiuuun uKumai ceinune ui ouureBuioii, in
justice, discrimination, beatings, lynchings, de
nial of Constitutional rights.
Too long has the Constitution been flagrantly
violated the Constitution of the United States,
which is too little known by the very people who
prattle of "returning to the Constitution.
Let us be reminded what the Constitution
does say.
The Good Earth
10 YEARS AGO
June 7, 1953 (Sunday)
West Coast Airlines will be
gin passenger service between
Medford and Klamath Falls
June 29, it has been an
nounced.
Planes of the Rogue River
Traffic association flew a total
of 1 hour and 47 minutes yes
terday, most of the time seed
ing high thunderhead type
clouds to prevent them from
becoming hail clouds.
ao years' ago
June 7. 1943 (Monday) '
William McAllister, Med
ford attorney, receives cap
tain's commission from Army.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudae P o t" column: "A
number of the more farsighted
rural residents nsve lanvii
the cross-cut saw by the horns
to combat the fuei shortage
next winter.
30 YEARS AGO
Juna 7. 1933 (Wednesday)
Medford Chamber of Com
merce vetoes plans to have
two-day holiday July 4 and S.
Annual Medford Elks picnic
scheduled for June 22.
40 YEARS AGO
Juna 7. 1923 (Thursday)
Prominent Medford attor
ney fined $50 for remarks dur
ing liquor trial in , Jackson
ville. Special meeting set Monday
for discussion of possible con
struction of new high school.
SO YEARS AGO
Juna 7, 1913 (Saturday)
Sixty-five Medford resi
dents leave for Portland to at
tend annual rose show.
Investigation reveals "dvna-
miling outrage" on Ashland
pluza was hoax to advertise
Fourth of July celebration.
ratal's Your I.Q.?
Nina ten correct h tiparieri
tavan ei etaht is tsctllenti five ar
six is good.
1. In tennis, what Is t h e
term for no score?
2. Name the parents of John
the Baptist.
3. Is a pintail a deer, wild
duck, or western saddle
horse?
4. About whose life did
Plato write in "Apology" on
the future life?
5. Upon what two articles
of food and drink were the
Greek Gods supposed to have
lived?
6. What Is the customary
fuel of rural Ireland?
7. What type of naval ves
sel is an E boat?
8. Is an armadillo a biped
or a quadruped?
9. What river flows for 1,
761 miles through Alaska?
10. Name the Postmaster
General of the United States.
Answersi 1, Lore. 2. Elisa
beth and Zachary. 3. Wild
duck. 4. Tha daalh of Bocra
las. S. Nactar and ambrosia.
6. Peat. 7. Motor torpedo boat.
(. Quadruped. 9. Yukon. 10.
J. Edward Day.
Gutjahr Attending
Portland Conference
Medford Assistant City
Manager Gilbert J. Gutjahr
attended a meeting of the Ore
Ron Association of Airport
Managers in Portland today.
Robert Dunn, director of
the state board of aeronautics,
will discuss his department's
proposed activities for the
coming year at the meeting.
The status of the federal air-
Jhm-U aid program will also b
AMENDMENT XIV:
"All persons born or naturalized in the
United States . . . are citizens of the United
States and of the state wherein they reside.
No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or im
munity of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any state deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property without due process of
law: nor deny to any person within its juris
diction THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF
THE LAWS." - .
Amendment XV:
"The right of c i t i z e n s of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any state, on ac
count of race, color, or previous condition
of servitude."
These provisions of the Constitution have
been in effect for nearlv 100 vears. Yet thev
have never truly been observed. And as a result,
millions oi American citizens have been citizens
in name only.
THERE ARE A multitude of arguments bandied
about why Negroes should not be granted
iuij ciuzensnip, ana tne equality or treatment
unaer law and the equality of opportunity which
go with citizenship. ...
It can be said that "thev" Cthe Neerocsi are
shiftless, lazy, diseased, dirty, uneducated, im-
muiai, criminal me list is enaiess.
These are all half-truths at best, as anv cur
sory glance at the outstanding 'members of the
Negro community will attest.
isut. where thev do applv. where lies the
blame? Does it lie with those who. because thev
have been deprived of effective citizenship and
the opportunities that go with it, have had no
cnance to raise their own standards:
Or does it he with the rest of us all of us
collectively who have denied them any true
chance at improvement?
AE ARE NOW dealing with a new generation
" of Negroes, many of whom have at last,
against, oacis, auvaneeci up tne ladder of educa
tion sufficiently to know what the score is. And
they now are demanding the opportunities which
rightfully, legally, morally are theirs.
Thank God it has been done, so far. with
relatively little violence (mostly on the part of
wnue men aeiermineci to turn them back). If the
moderates in the ranks of the Netrroes ever lose
their leadei'ship to the extremists of the Black
Muslim variety, the national will be on the brink
of interracial warfare.
Our correspondents may not realize it. But we
are on the verge of a new era in human and racial
relationships, There is still time to choose which
way it will develop.
CITHER IT WILL develop in an orderly, legal,
V humane and forthright way which is the
core of the American tradition.
Or it will degenerate into a horror of violence,
bloodshed, hatred, fear and desperation.
It is ours to make the choice.
Shall we attempt to look at Negro Americans
as fellow citizens, fellow human beings, and at
tempt to judge them as individuals like anyone
cist? J
Or shall we let ancient prejudices and fears
oima us to reality
IS ALL THIS academic here in the Rogue Val
ley? Is it pertinent in Medford?
You can bet it is pertinent here.
For, while we have seldom had Negroes in
any number living here, or for very long, a glance
at the census statistics, and the fluctuations and
trends in population figures, indicates we un
doubtedly soon will.
And when this happens we must be prepared
to decide whether the Constitution and the laws
of the nation and the state mean what they say,
and shall be observed.
If we decide otherwise, we shall lose our right
to call ourselves law-abiding, self-respecting and
loyal citizens of th United States. E. A. a I
Initiative Remains With Red China in
Quiescent Border Conflict With India
Communications
Letters to tha Editor must bear tha name and address of tha writer
although under certain circumstances tha use of a pen name or initial
for publication Is permissible. Tha Mail Tribune reserves tha rlnhr to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letter.
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. Tha letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of &
paper, in fact tha contrary is often the case.
Divided Wa Fall
To the Editor, and Mrs
Abble Bufkln: Relatively cer
tain am I, too, that there is a
large measure of behind the
scenes directing on the part
oi Mr. K s seconds here in our
country, especially in connec
tion with the racial absurdi
ties. Intentionally, this sub
ject was omitted from my
former commune because of
the ominous nature it pre
sents. Certainly, unrest from
within is a prime cut of beef
for the commie propaganda
to savor, Just as sore relation
ships between Negro and
white give them an excellent
myriad of leaverage points In
the never ending search for
America's weaknesses.
The tragedy Is in the fact
we are permitting this soft
spot to remain rather than
routinj out the antagonists or
squelching them. The latter,
being the simpler and surer
method, may be accomplished
by proving that we are strong
and proud of our ability to
live united, ("One, a nation
under God, Indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all").
We must quiet the quib
bling. Refusing to live the
forceful promise of our Pledge
of Allegiance, we are, in
effect, chanting mighty, but
hollow, meaningless words.
each time we say it.
To be sure, It would be nice
if we could forget the whole
mess, but just as a marriage.
salvaged from the brink of
divorce, can never forget the
mistakes of the past, so, too,
the nation must profit by its
mlsjudgments and keep look
ing ahead, to the wedding of
the people, as a nation rather
than two separate, unjoined,
bodies of people, each breed
ing hatred of the other.
Incidentally, how recently
have you stopped to observe
our flag and say with heart
and soul, for yourself, alone.
to relish, the Pledge? Perhaps
you have never bothered to
say this Pledge simply be
cause you felt like it, but pre
fer to reserve this ritual to
perform only in public dis
play. When each of us can, with
clear conscience, whisper
silently this unequalcd credo,
and know that we are living
its very promise, Mr. K's at
tempts to gain foothold here
will be futile.
Take a second, deeper look
into this pledge and r eon 11-
"Unltrd we stand - Divided
we fall!"
It's still true.
Phyllis lwls
P.O. Box 402
Talent, Ore.
own sake, it won't make too
much difference as I have my
quota in extension work, but
I really can't understand the
lack of Interest and anti-intellectual
attitude of peoples
living in and around Grants
Pass. To be interested and to
be curious seems to me the
normal thing.
Now that summer is here, I,
like most students, won't miss
the hard grinding work. I will
miss my many new friends
and hearing their thoughts
and ideas about Important is
sues of the day.
In this day when one hears
much about the under
privileged and our crowded
conditions of classrooms, I
must confess, I felt slightly
guilty sitting in a half-filled
room taking up a university
instructor's time. I wish I had
been more brilliant and ab
sorbed everything that was
offered.
A Grants Pass Junior
College Student
(Name on file)
An Appreciation
To the rdltor: Last night I
completed 32 hours of college
work at Grants Pass Lower Di
vision College. Anyone lack
ing college training or train
ing in the particular courses
offered missed the bargain of
a lifetime. I have been en
rolled In night courses for the
past three years and I can say
with all honesty the standards
and quality of teaching this
past year were outstanding. I
competed with absolutety bril
liant students.
Adults who go to night
school and the teachers that
Instruct them are interested in
education and learning in gen
eral, uur instructors were
some of the best In Oregon,
mostly from Southern Oregon
college, and we were allowed
no privileges because of our
extension class status. The
same quality of work was ex
pected from us. in less time
and under more trying cir
cumstances, as was expected
of full time college students.
1 think we gave It a good try.
I was very disappointed
when I returned home to read
that all courses would be dis
continued next year. I'tj- my
Todays Teenagers
To the Editor: My husband
daughter and myself attend-
ed the "Youth Inc." meeting
Wednesday, June 8. To others
like myself that have not at
tended these meetings, this is
a new organization designed
to aid the youth of our com
munity in obtaining employ
ment. This is run by the
youth with the help of a Sen
ior committee.
Their future office on cor
ner Main and Bartlett donat
ed by Bill Hansen, is soon to
be opened, but before they
can open, they need money
for lights, Installation of their
telephone, etc.
Several wonderful sugges
tions were made by adults
and teenagers, and after be
Ing discussed thoroughly our
teenagers felt very strongly
that they must earn this
money. So very soon you will
be seeing, "Car Washes," etc.,
under adult supervision by
our teenagers all donating
tneir time for "Youth Inc.'
All this money will be given
to "Youth Inc." This islhcir
goal, not only on opening
their office but to keep it
open, not for one year but
many years.
As I ve said before, "Aren't
today's teenagers wonder
ful?!"
Mrs. Irene S. Kennedy
hit Johnson st.
Medford.
By PHIL NEWBOM
UPI Foreign News Analyst
When Red China last De
cember declared an arbitrary
cease-fire in its border dispute
with India, it
already had
demonstrated
a decisive su
periority in at
least three de
partments es
sential to suc
cessful w a r-
fare. Its troops
were better
trained, espe
cially for high mountain fight
ing in the Himalayas, were
better equipped, and had the
best communications.
Through the winter the
Chinese also retained the tac
tical advantage, holding the
high passes while the Indians
remained in the plains below.
Whether the Red Chinese
mounted their attack for ter
ritorial gains or to embarrass
India before the world, they
did touch off chain reactions
which have continued through
the winter and into the spring.
India, forced to abandon
Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru's cherished position of
co-existence, turned to the
United States and Britain for
military aid which was forth
coming to the tune of $60 mil
lion apiece for the U.S. and
Britain, assisted by members
of the Commonwealth.
The U.S. aid and the prom
ise of more to come led to an
immediate chill in U.S.-Pakis-
tan relations and disrupted the
unity of the CENTO pact
which is the Allied defensive
link between NATO in the
West and SEATO in the East.
The Pakistanis charged that
long-term aid to India meant
writing off any settlement of
the long drawn-out Kashmir
dispute and created the pos
sibility that India would use
the arms against Pakistan.
On their side, the Indians
accused the Pakistanis of
being "willing tools" of the
Red Chinese and cited as evi
dence the recent trade and
border pacts concluded be
tween Pakistan and the Chi
nese. The chain reaction touched
off other Important develop
ments. The Red Chinese also con
cluded a border pact with
Mongolia and used it and the
Pakistan agreement to trum
pet its desire for peaceful co
existence with its Asia neigh
bors. In another important area,
the Soviet Union's decision to
send Mig jets to India and to
continue aid to India industry
further irritated Sino-Soviet
relations already at a new
low.
Peking has accused India of
"further provocation" along
the disputed frontier and has
warned that any Indian at
tempt to regain some 12,000
square miles seized by the
Chinese would be for New
Delhi to drop a stone on its
own feet.
The renewed Chinese trucu
lence has led to concern that
they are attempting either to
goad the Indians into an attack
or to frighten them into nego
tiations on Red Chinese terms.
Estimates of India's military
needs over the next five years
range from $1.5 billion to S500
million. The U.S. hopes to
help build up India's air trans
port system, to establish mili
tary training missions and to
improve road and other sys
tems of communication.
It hopes Britain will take I But in the meantime, tha
over the job of building up air initiative remains with Red
defenses. I China.
The Watchers
A Silent Barrier
6 Arthur Hoppe
Editor's notei Tha follow
ing column was written
after tha Human Rights
march in San Francisco re
cently, conducted in sym
pathy with tha Negroes in
Birmingham, Ala.)
It was, as parades go, not
much of a parade. No flowery
In the Day's News
y FRANK JINKINS '
Strictly
Personal
' By Sydney J. Harris
fc. Field Enterprises, Inc.
Tinted Glasses
To the Editor: Well, the
seed our president scattered
in his personal telephone call
to tho spouse of chief trouble
maker King down Alabama
way, is bringing a heap of
chickens home to roost, black
unes niosiiy. Ana lis our
guess that some are roosting
on a oust oi rallas just above
somebody s chamber door
and that somebody is getting
some disturbed sleep, even
though he tries to keep the
snuuer closed. Well, he asked
for it, just like he has asked
for far too much. So much
so that a growing resistant
congress is a-boming ideas of
its own.
With that presidential per
sonal call to their "credit
the blacks are now demand
ing, (much to brother Bobby's
consternation), mat the Dres
dent come down to Alabama
and personally conduct the
two or more black students
past the resisting form of
Gov. Wallace for integration
into the University of Ala
bama. The president don't seem
to relish doing this. Instead,
he proposes that Gov. Wallace
prevent his physical self from
barring away the would-be stu
dents of the black race from
entering Alabama s all-white
University. Just how this is
to be done is a bit befogged
as is much of the President's
reasoning.
For, it is not the mere in
tegration of the all-white
school the blacks are seek
ing, or the integration of any
other all-white places of meet
ing, public or private. They
fully realize that their low
learning capacity is proven
in the NEA Ranking of States,
Research Report - 1983 - Rl,
page aa, col. 48, its per
centage column approx-
1 m a 1 1 n g Negro popula-
tlon state by state (all this
from state and government
records) as befog beyond
argument. All this forced en
try into social intimacy with
the anciently resisting white
race, is but a buildup to the
black's idea of equality. This
he proposes to do by degree
till he, the black male, has
gained entry to daughters of
white parents, that by com
mon law or marriage vow
the white girl is seeded with
the brand of the black man.
At that segment, the white
race ends, the black race con
tinuing on with their progeny
gaining full equality at last.
This the white southerners
have long ago learned. The
Northern whites still wear
ing their Uncle Tom's Cabin
tinted glasses, has it yet to
learn. On this I stand up
be counted.
F. J. Clifford,
Route 1, Box 200F,
. Central Point, Ore.
to
Theater League
To the Editor: The board
of directors of the Broadway
Theater League of Medford
wishes to thank you for your
help in publicizing its recent
membership campaign.
The cooperation of many
civic-minded citizens is nec
essary for the success of such
a venture in a city the size
of Medford.
We appreciate your willing
response to our plan for help.
Mary Jane Casterline
Secretary
Broadway Theater
League of Medford
Whose Expanse
To the Editor: I talked
with a young local boy that
has been working back East.
He tells me the Negroes where
he works goof-off and if they
are reprimanded they cry
"discrimination."
One white man was served
notice that he had made a
remark that he should not
have made and to watch him
self, for If It were repeated
he would lose his Job. He
Iocs not know what he said
or when he said it, and the
boss retimed to tell him. Be
ing a man with a family to
support, he took the repri
mand.
There are three young
Negro women employed in
the office where this young
man works and only one of
the three carries her share
of the work load. The other
office help do not dare to
complain.
What are we doing to our
selves?
The Kennedy administra
tion say they need the Ncaro
vote to be re-elected in 1964.
but at whose expense?
Leila A. Morrow,
331 North Bartlett st.,
Medford.
?rj
It -MI
Harrla
solve the
BELONG VS. STAND OUT
There . are two contradic
tory, but equally strong, de
sires in the modern human
being who
lives in a mo
bile society
such as ours.
One is the de
sire to "be
long"; the oth
er is the de
sire to "stand
o u t." How
successf u 1 1 y
we can re
tension between
these two contradictions is the
measure of a society's growth
and stability. And such ten
sion can most easily be seen,
for instance, in the world of
fashion and style,
Edward Sapir, writing some
years ago in the "Encyclope
dia of Social Science," de
scribes the "contradictory
functions of fashion." Style on
the part of women is always
an effort to arbitrate, to strike
a balance, between the desire
to stand out in the crowd and
the need to belong and be ac
cepted by the group.
A woman would not
customarily go out for an
evening In a hat or gown
that was 10 years out
moded; she wants to be in
tha currant fashion. On tha
other hand, if her hat or
gown Is too much like soma
others at the same party,
she feels humiliated or
cheated out of her individu
ality. What she is looking
for. in Sapir's phrase, is
"adventurous safety."
The contradiction was put
in more basically psycho
logical terms by Lin Yu
lang, in his witty epigram)
"All woman's dresses ar
merely variations on the
eternal struggle between
the admitted desire to dress
and tha unadmitted desire
lo undress,"
Society, like all institu
tions, tends toward con
formity, toward uniformity,
lowikid group solidarity.
Yet the individual, while
needing the comfort of "be
longing." also possesses the
opposite urge to be differ
- ent. to stand out. to assart
his uniqueness In one way
or another.
e e e
Changing fashions can be
understood only as a psycho
logical means of giving ex
pression to both these ten
dencies at once - the women
all wear sack dresses or clorhe
hats at the same time, and yet
each one endeavors to look as
distinctively different as tws-
sioie.
A good society seeks to
preserve as much diversity as
possible within the unity of
the group. And although the
United States prides itself on
being the land of "individual
ism." we too often limit this
to our economic life alone.
and discourage individual ex
pression in ideas, in ways of
living, in the eccentricities
and idiosyncracies that give a
people color and vitality and
charm.
A country without a "beat
movement" of some sort, with
out its rebels, its innovators,
its iconoclasts, would be
spiritually and intellectually
Petrified. And economic In
lividualism could not long
hrive in such a climate ofj
locial conformity.
Grim note in the news:
A hard-working mother of
six small children was raped
and killed early the other
day following a furious strug
gle in her neat Sunnyvale
(California) home. She was
Mary Ellen Stackhouse,
pretty 30-year-old wife of a
Moffet Field chief petty of
ficer. She was left by her attack
er in the hallway of her home
-her face battered, her blouse
ripped and her throat slashed.
A bloody butcher knife from
the kitchen lay near the
body. In the living room, de
tectives found a blood-stain
ed hammer. They theorize
that she was in the living
room watching TV when the
attacker struck her from be
hind with the hammer. .
UESTION:
What will be done with
him if he is caught, tried and
convicted?
Will he be put in jail - to
escape later, maybe, and try
it again?
THAT'S at least a thought
- for California's legislators,
who are being importuned to
forbid capital punishment -
which is admittedly a grim
and awful thing.
There is only ONE excuse
for it.
It puts that kind of people
PERMANENTLY out Of the
way.
T ET'S
turn to pleasanter
news.
Pan American World Air
ways announces that it has
ordered supersonic (faster
than the speed of sound) jet
airliners that will fly 1500
miles per hour and make
trans-Atlantic flights in 2Vs
hours.
WHICH is to say:
If you live on the East
Coast and have an itching
foot and plenty of what it
takes and get a yen at break
fast some morning to have
lunch at Claridge's in London
or the Ritz in Paris, all you'll
have to do is to get to the
airport along about 8 a.m.
That will give you time to
make it, if you're lucky in
the way of taxicabs at the
airport on the other side. And
if the traffic isn't too bad
on your way down town.
AND-
If you choose
Or if y o u have a dinner
appointment with friends on
this side for that same eve
ning, you can still get back
home in time to make it.
This is getting to be quite
a world, isn't it?
THIS new plane WONT be
another America first.
It will be built jointly by
British and French corpora
tions, with the aid of govern
ment subsidies. It can land or
take off at existing airports
and will cruise at weather
proof 65,000 to 70,000 feet
altitudes some 12 to 13
MILES up in the air.
When will it go into serv
ice? About 1968 which will
give most of us just about
time to save up enough money
for the round trip.
floats, no mincing majorettes,
no big brass bands. Nobody
in step. They merely shuffled
up the middle of San Fran
cisco's Market street under
the gray Sunday sky in a
long, thin stream. And what
marked the parade was its
silence.
Occasionally, a sound truck,
it's banners proclaiming "Hu.
man Rights Day," would go
past, blaring a tinny record,
ing of "We Shall Overcome."
A few a very few of the)
marchers were singing, al
most defiantly, their voices
loud in the stillness. But most
looked straight ahead or soft
ly chatted with each other in
a self-contained sort of way.
The thin crowd on the side
walk was quiet. There was
nothing to applaud. They just
watched as the marchers filed
by. Silently, quietly, they
stared across the gap of naked
pavement that separated
marchers from onlookers like
a wall. Nor did the marchers
look at them.
And what struck you most
In the silence was the thick
air of embarrassment. March
ers and onlookers alike.
We stood, my family and I,
on the curb near Fifth street.
I had wanted to see what
those who march in a North
ern city these days looked
like.
They looked as you might
expect: Negro families in
their Sunday best, young
white men, in beards and
sweaters, long shoremen, a
minister in clerical garb. But
from the ranks of the solid,
respectable, middle class
there were precious few.
We stood there on the curb
and watched. Not even talk
ing to ourselves. Next to us
were three middle-aged wom
en, neatly-d r e s s e d, well
coiffed. Silent. On the othef
side stood a man in white sad
dle shoes with a little boy.
Once he said something to tha
boy, but he said it so quietly
you couldn't hear.
An old man came by hawk
ing flimsy American flags on
sticks- He seemed angry no
body would buy one. We just
went on watching.
And then we saw a Negro
boy of perhaps 10 or 12. His
right leg was in a brace and
he swung along on crutches.
Suddenly, I wanted very
much to leave the onlookers
and join the parade. Very
much.
But with so many silently
watching, the gap of naked
pavement between those of
us standing on the curb and
those marching by loomed in
surmountable. How exposed
you would be to all those eyes
if you crossed it. How vul
nerable. How embarrassed.
It was then that we saw
someone we knew in tha
line of march, a fellow news
paperman in sportcoat and
tie with his wife and children
beside him. His was the first
familiar face we'd seen. If he
could, we could.
And oddly, once we were in
the parade the embarrassment
seemed a smaller thing- It
was there, but it was shared.
In a way the experience was
like diving into a chilly pool.
You screw up your courage
and you take the plunge. And
afterward you feel much bet
ter. Which is the only reason
for doing it.
And so we marched up
Market street, joking quietly
among ourselves about the
absence of police dogs and
fire hoses. And not looking
at the onlookers.
And that is how it is these
days in the North.
XifiM Uft T
Wake up, Amera before It's too lata!