Point Blank by Larry Keith
'We Can
Have A
Wedding'
“I know what we can do,” said Steve. ‘‘We can hav e a wedding.
Boy, that would be great fun. Listen, I’ll be the guy who gets married
and you can be the bride. Let’s call some of the other kids in the
neighborhood and they can be in it, too. It’ll be great fun.”
And with that, the game was on.
Everyone rummaged through his attic and came up with an assort
ment of things to make the fantasy more believable.
Steve saw to it that all of the ‘‘ushers” had flowers and Carol
made sure the ‘‘bridesmaids” wore pretty yellow dresses.
“Hey, this looks pretty good,” said Carol. ‘‘I think I’ll make
Alice my maid of honor.”
Alice giggled.
“And we’ll need a daddy and, Steve, you’ll have to have a best
man.”
Steve chose Larry.
“What about the preacher?” someone asked.
“Hey, let me be the preacher because I know what he said when
my big sister got married last year.”
So it was settled.
Everyone went into the big room where the piano was to take
their places, only they didn’t know where their places were.
“Of course not,” said Carol, “becuase we haven’t had a rehearsal.
You don’t know where your place is until you’ve had a rehearsal. The
preacher ought to know where everybody ought to be.”
"Putting Everyone In Place
“Well, gosh, I don’t really remember that part,” said the
“preacher.” “At my sister’s wedding I think all the boys stood
on one side and all the girls stood on another.”
“That’s not right, stupid,” said someone who had watched a lot
of television. “You’re supposed to have two boys and two girls
on each side. And beside the husband is the best man and . . . .”
“Hey, I thought the girl he was marrying was beside him!”
“That’s his other side, stupid. Now beside the husband is the
best man and beside the girl he’s marrying is her maid of honor.
It seems like the daddy stands there for a little while too.”
With that straightened out, Steve said, “What about when every
body marches down the aisle? Let’s put some chairs over there
and make an aisle.”
“I think,” said Carol, “that each usher ought to march down
with each bridesmaid. That’s the way it’s going to be at my wed
ding. The girl has got to put her arm in his so . . . .”
“What!”
(Gary was the shy type.)
“I’m not letting some old girl get that close to me. I’m not
so sure I like this game.”
“AH, GARY!”
And that was settled, too.
“Who knows “Here Comes The Bride”?
“I do. Here comes the bride, big fat and wide . . .”
Everyone laughed, and agreed that “weddings sure are a lot
of trouble.”
“But a lot of fun,” said Carol.
At last, the “ceremony” began. Well, almost.
“No one has come to our wedding, Steve,” said Carol.
“But, Carol, it’s just a game. How about if we bring Boxer
and Boots and the hanster in? That’ll be okay, won’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess so, but when I have a wedding there are going to
be lots and lots of people there. All my aunts and uncles and friends
and maybe even my school teacher.”
APRIL 26, 1967 CAROLINA JOURNAL PAGE 5
Letters To The Editor
--Steve, Best Man Are Missing
Ready, at last. ^ ,
The ushers and the bridesmaids walked over to the stool where
he preachers was standing so everybody could see him. That ^rt
jent very smoothly except when Gary told Margaret she was holding
n too tight. . , ,, , , „
Then Carol and her “daddy” came to the front of the church
inly to find that Steve and his best man weren’t there.
“Well, nobody told us anything,” said the best man.
“Just come on over now. I don’t guess it matters when you come
ust as long as you come,” Carol assured.
Time for the vows.
“Well, go ahead. Say something!”
“I don’t know what to say. I just remember, ‘I now pronounce
ou man and wife’.” . , . ^ ,
The little girl who had watched all of the television told hini flat
lut that he was the “worst old preacher I have ever seen and my
ireacher would always know what to say.” , , , . *
Someone suggested that to simplify things, “Maybe he ought to
ust ask them if they will like each other a whole lot and be good
o each other and help them with their homework and things like
hat.”
Everybody thought that sounded pretty good.
So while Boxer the dog eyed Boots the Cat, and while the ham
libbled at a piece of lettuce, the preacher asked them if they would
lo those verv thines.
Both of them said, “I do.” ,
Then, all the boys and the girls who had played drep up went
lome to eat supper and do whatever it is boys and girls o
hey have played such a game.
Everyone, that is, but Steve and Carol.
“Don’t y’all have to be home by 5:30? the best man asked
Jarol and Steve. . . »
“We’re going home, Carol and I are going to our home.
Oh. You were kidding. You weren’t really playing. Your really
ire married.
Good luck, then.
New York Compared To Other
Cities, Even Charlotte
Obviously, Miss KenneUy never
looked beyond “picture postcard”
representations of New York City.
Is there indeed “no grass” and
only “a slight glitter” of the sun
in the city? Speaking from twenty
years of experience, I beg to dif
fer with you.
Certainly, there are business
districts, loading zones, and back
alley-ways which fit this descrip
tion. Certainly there are over
crowded traffic lanes. But so are
there these in Charlotte, and in
every city of the world large enough
to be deserving of the title “city.”
When many people are packed into
a limited area, this is the uni
versal result; therefore, it is un
fair to single out anyaie metro
polis for criticism.
Have you seen the streets near
the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel in
Raleigh? Have you seen traffic
backed up on North Tryon? Have
you considered that New York
streets were planned in days when
there were not seething traffic
problems? Have you ever seen the
new freeways which are enabling
the city to handle hundreds of
thousands of commuters and visit
ors everyday? Andhow“logically”
are Charlotte streets mapped
out as compared to New York’s
system?
Yes, there are slum areas, tene
ments, eye - sores” and “ugli
ness” in areas of New York. But
here, again, you do not see be
yond what you have been told.
Have you seen the great work being
dale in slum-clearance? Have you
stood and watched glittering new
apartments being raised near
parks and recreational areas to
house New Yorkers, and the level
ing of ancient brownstone houses
to build newer edifices, or leave
space for wider streets.
Have you ever walked from one
end of Central Park to the other
or strolled along the River Drine?
And have you, my friend, ever
stood at the corner of Alexander
and Independence Blvd., or walked
up McDowell, Brevard, or Cald
well Streets in this fair city of
Charlotte?
And as for air pollution, have
you ever been to Chicago, London,
Paris, Los Angeles, Troy or Al
bany? Have you ever tried to
breathe for three blocks surround
ing Charlotte Memorial Hospital on
a warm spring night when the sew
ers back up? Have you ever washed
Charlotte soot off your windows,
car or Venetian bUnds? I could
show you soot in any city.
In short, have you ever noticed
a few things which all cities have
in common that enables the obser
ver to distinguish them from
suburbs, hick towns, mountain vil
lages, and deserts?
Nancy Kohler
Reader Is Upset
Mr. Editor:
I am apalled by the advertise
ment of the “Charlotte Friends”
which ran in “The Journal” April
12.
The alternatives to 1-A status
that are offered are not easily
attained, and by their offer they
have lowered their faith to the
level of the common draft dodger.
To be a conscientious objector
requires that the person have ir
revocable religous beliefs which
prohibit him from any act of vio
lence.
To believe that the war in Viet
nam is wrong is not sufficient
grounds for the status of con
scientious objector. Would these
same people not raise a hand if
their home, person, or family were
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS
in danger? There are those who
wouldn’t but their numbers are
small and they are to be respect
ed for their great faith.
The person to whom this adver
tisement was directed does not
fall in that class, for them the
word is not CONSCIENTIOUS it
is COWARD!
Charles E. Petty
Scott Gets
Endorsement
Mr. Editor:
We the following students
endorse Sam Scottfor Senior Class
president and urse all rising sen
iors to vote for him:
Tim Britton, president of the
student body
Bud Stokley, vice - president of
the student body
ElUson Clary, editor of the CAR
OLINA JOURNAL.
Bill Hodges, President of APO
Ron Russell, treasurer of the
Union
Bill Shuford, chairman of the
Student Party
Patrick McNeely. vice president
of APO
Nick Stavrakas, senior repre
sentative
David Cloninger, secretary of
APO.
V.P. Price
Says ^Thanks’
Mr. Editor:
I would like to express my gra
titude for the support and vote
of confidence given me in the past
elections. As vice - president of
the Senior Class, I assure you
that your interests will be much
in consideration.
Thank you,
Jimmy Price
“^UT SURELY YOU REMEMBER ME,PROFESSOR; YOU SAIPI WASTh'ONLY
‘3TUPENTYOU EVER WTOFLUNK Bi0L06YTW|CE IN eiiCCee$\OH,"
THE CAROLINA JOURNAL
Published weekly on Wednesday except during holidays.
PAUL BOSWELL Editor, this issue
ELLISON CLARY Assistant Editor
Frank Crooks Business Manager
Libby Holshouser Feature Editor
Donna Hughes Sports Editor
Geraldine Ledford Cartoonist
Fred Jordan Photo Editor
Nancy Kohler, Frank Coley Photographers
Staff: Sally Hagood, Earleen Mabry, Corny Stilwell, Frank Caton,
Jan Ballard, Patrick McNeely, Bobbe Berry, Carol Haywood, John
Lafferty, Gayle Watts, Kay Watson, Carol Durham, Louise Napolitan,
Larry Keith, and Darlene Helms.
To see why Mr, Walker
is smiling at his tennis
players, look on the next
page.