Solitude
Solitude. The silent walls that surround you when you sit alone
only seem to stare, waiting for you to say something first. Then they
do not answer. The feeling of loneliness rushes in like a wave
without sound. It is the time that you long for a friendly, smiling
fjoe - someone with whome to share a laugh. There is no one there,
and, worse, you know there will not be. This is loneliness. This is the
loneliness of solitude. It is the aching kind that crushes and floods
vour mind with wishes for something to do with someone. The silent
loneliness is the worse kind of solitude. It can be complicated with
sorrow, a broken affair, or other means of heartaches. But, it is the
loneliness that opens the self for the other amplifiers of solitude.
The things that seems to pass most readily thru your mind are the
happier times, these are Ihe memories with barbs that ear and hurt.
These seem to be the companions of lonely solitude. A record player
or radio are only electrical devices which are confessions that you
want something other than the silent loneliness. They don’t help for
you know that they are cold and uncareing and what you need is
someone. Someone to listen and reply. Someone just to be in the
room to separate you from your solitude. If it be the right one, then
there doesn’t need to be any conversation. There does need to be
someone. The quiet can be ended, but the solitude is as solid as
stone.
Unwanted Moments
Solitude can be the thing you wish for when the world is walking,
on your mind. You are packed in a long line of traffic going
somewhere you don’t want to go to do something that you don’t
want to do. The crowds are loud noisy, dirty, sweaty and you wish
you were in your ivory tower of solitude. Then you long for the
pleasure of solitude. It has been a bad day, nothing has gone right,
nothing looks like it’s going to go right and you just don’t want
people around you. Then you long for the pleasure of solitude. You
sit in a meeting where nothing is happening, except that the hands of
the clock move so slowly and are wasted. This is where solitude calls
softly, and you nist deny it. The people at a party are just not your
type of people, and you would gladly trade the plastic smile of your
face for a quiet place. Solitude, again, asks and again you can not
pay the price.
Gentle Times
I#
Solitude in its best form is the
desired solitude of self-
contentment. This is when all is
tight with the world and you are
happy that it is. This is the long
quiet walk down an unpaved road
in sunlit woods. This is the rolling
meadow and pleasant thoughts.
This is a large blue sky and gentle
winds. This is peace of mind.
Solitude is a welcome friend
which allows you to spend some
time with yourself. It allows you
to think your own thouglits, to
listen to yourself, and know that
you are where you want to be and
know who you are. Solitude then
is a shield which lets you deal
with the world in your own mind.
Solitude is a companion. You
need no artifical stimulation from
a radio or record player. You
mind generates its own pleasure.
The contentment therein is a
valuable possession. The solitude
only enhances the beauty of the
moment. The regret would be that
this type of solitude cannot be
shared, for that is the only thing
which, in any way, would bring
more pleasure than it does. This
solitude is quiet assurance that
you are big enough to handle
whatever life may throw at you,-
If We Know...
We forget that solitude is mrely a measuring device. The lonely
stage allows us to find what the errors are in our relationships with
- others. If forces time upon us to think about others, to analyze
others feelings toward us and our’s toward them. More than
: anything else it promises us that we are still sensitive persons. We
still may feel and care. Solitude in the contentment stage assures us
that we are mature, self-confident. It’s a warm feeling which
produces peace of mind. Those who are able to handle solitude in
i any of its forms and handle it well will find it to be a precise
measurement of their character. The paradox here is that these
j persons need no measuring device.
27
The Carolina Journal September 25, 1968 Page 7
From The Couch
by Phil Wilson
)ear Phil,
My problem is most pressing.
My fia.ice says she wouldn’t mind
marrying my best man-even
though he’s
should I do?
a real clod. What
Waiting
Dear Waiting,
The safest thing you can do is
be sure you stand in the right
place in the wedding ceremony!
This will at least insure you of
getting yourself married to your
fiance. The next safest measure to
undertake is to have the minister
delete the part asking if anyone
has any objections to the
marriage-you can never tell when
your blushing bride might reply in
the affirmative. Finally, you will
need to see your fiance every
night until about midnight up to
the very day of your wedding-this
way you can probably prevent her
running away to South Carolina
with your best man.
In case this letter is on the level,
1 have some choice words about
the situation. (1) This girl is not
your fiance; it sounds as though
she would be anybody fiance who
is sucker enough to marry her. (2)
You’d better be sure that you
really love this girl enough to
'marry her, and that you’re not
just engaged in a “wife rites” war
with your best man. (3) Be certain
that this fiance really loves you
enough to marry you-and only
you. (From the looks of things,
unless you’ve been deceived by
identical twins, you have
ctriK^U./Aiit nn thic miint ^ ^4-^ Tf.
you’re just plain butt-headed and
hell-bent determined to marry
her, I suggest that you find a
convenient way to relive your best
man of his duties.
Oh, by the way, if the best man
is your father, you’d better write
another letter...On second
thought, you’d better check my
office hours-you’ve got one
helluva problem.
Dear Phil,
I am a freshman on campus and
like to keep up with what’s
happening. In last week’s
JOURNAL, page 10, there is an
editorial cartoon,-I missed the
point entirely. What is and why is
the editor afraid of it?
emfc
John
Dear John,
Don’t ftel like a bewildered
frosh. Believe me, you aren’t
alone. EMFC is an organization of
men on campus dedicated to
brotherhood and friendship and
all those other things in the Scout
code. The “club” is composed of
about five or six members, all of
whom are very good friends. They
came into existence as a “club”,
most prominently, last spring. To
the confusion and in some cases
indignance of the campus. The
EMFC made themselves
well-known through the
newspaper, the Barnstormer, and
through such antics as heroizing
of some character named Phil
Blundell—whose identitv is
unknown to most. At any rate,
before the close of school last
spring, EMFC had become quite
famous on campus-or maybe I
should say notorious.
I feel sure you will be hearing
more from EMFC this year -
much more. Some of what you
hear add to your confusion, some
of it will tickle your funny-bone,
and some of it might even make
you mad.
Now that you have the basics
on EMFC-which is about all
anyonehas, except EMFC-a few
lines will serve to explain the
editorial cartoon. It happens that
the edito;- of this paper is a
member of EMFC. That explains
why the “cafeteria quorum” is
using the whip on him-his owh
whip, you might say...In fact,
that’s exactly what you would
say.
Dear Phil,
Actually, I have no problems.
As my personal analyst, you’ve
already solved them all. Let
everyone else know how effective
you are
Dear Inmate, Inmate
Nobody will ever seriously
believe you sent this letter.
Indeed, I was hesitant about
including it in my column.
However, I feel that if 1 excluded
it, your withering ego might be
damaged and a month of analysis
would be wated. So, thank you
for your endorsement, and
remember--y ou have an
appointment on The Couch this
.week
Advanced Bulldozing 490
Did you ever have to nidxe up
your mind, to drive your car or be
here on time? Extricating a
Lincoln Continental from a
meteorite crater disguised as a pot
hole has been known to take more
time than you’ve got to get to an
8:30 class. Accompanied with the
State Highway Commission’s
training center in advanced
bulldozing on what was Highway
49, monsoon showers may soon
make driving on campus
impossible. Even should you get
througli the non-asphalt jungle,
that $10.00 parking space is not
to be confused with a
icadily-attainable object. Soon, oh
too soon, gentle readers, that
training center is to be expanded.
Skulking October marks the
closing of that lifeline to the city
(Highway 49 to the neophytes
among ye), another great step in
the abolishment of this
university’s commuter status. The
alternate paths will be the
well-worn one from herlocker’s
and one through Newell. Frodo
had an easier time getting to
Mordor. Wait a minute, I think I
see a parking space. I’m going to
have to end this article.
The Amber House
A good University like UNC-C deserves good food, and that’s |
what we serve from six in the morning ‘til 11:30 at niglit.
5625 North Tryon Street