Scranton Central HS 1958 Yearbook (Scranton, PA) - Guest Access

LITTLE LOVE LOST W HE~ the bu neared hi top, Tom Oti Jowl ea d him If out of hi eat a he had en Gary 'oop r do in a moYie. ··Good uy that ary ooper," mu d Tom, a he carefully allow d two chattering elder! women to prec d him do\\ n th aile. etting off th bu , Tom rath r wi h d that he had tay d on it. He did not particularly want to go hom , but at th moment Tom c uld think of no other place to go· he et hi houlder with ju t the right )ouch and aunt red up th treet. Tom looked lik any and every .e\ enteen-year-old boy- the p ren– nial crew cut, th extreme[ · dirt add! hoe the I v League cloth · but in on way, at lea t, Tom dif– fer d from mo t of hi t en-aged JUNE 1958 Will Tom eve r 'belong'? Helen .\Iumfo1d, '59 compatriot : Tom wa unhappy. H wa totall · and completely di con– tent d with hi home. Tom would b the fir t to admit that hi parent wer all right. Hi father had a rrood job· hi mother wa a good cook; ~Iarilyn, Tom' older i t r who wa marri d and had a baby, wa n't any bother. Of cour e, hi younger i ter C)nthia, had a high nui ance value but a go d pe1 nt of the time Tom ga'e jut a · mu h a her– cei,·ed. Tom' troubl he wa not y t quite con ciou. of the fact ) wa that he did not conform. He ju t wa n't on of the family. By now Tom had reached hi hou e. He opened the door and walk d into the hou e, lamming the door after him, not to draw attention to him elf, but merely to lam the door. Tom walked into the livin room wher hi father wa intently pe– ru ing the e,· ning paper. Looking up with a blank tare at hi on Mr. Oti thought " l ever know what to ay to the boy. I can't eem to reach him try though I may." At th arne time, Tom wa think– ing, "Thi i the third night the old man ha n t noticed that I didn't bring an book home. He doe n't even bother to h kle me anymor !" Tom mo,· d from the living room to the kitchen. Here :.\fr . Oti ' a preparinrr dinner, while he wa watching h r one-and-a-half year-old rand on . "Oh. Tom it' ·ou." "Yeh. \ ho'd you expect?" ~fr. Oti tarted. "Tom. why do you in i t on being rude? It i n't at all becoming. Your father and I ha\ p nt eventeen year trying to teach you good manner ! Tom, if you tried you could- oh, you poor littl baby . did you drop your rattle?" Down on h r kn e went ~I r . ti to con ole th hild. \\ho wa mo t happ · without hi rattle. Tom went to hi room fuming, "What a brat! The way he treat that kid you'd think that h wa the rown prince, at th \' r I a t!" At dinner that vening Tom wa ullen. Hi parent howev r, did not notice hi quietne be au hi i ter .ynthia held the limelight durinrr th meal. Her ebullition O\' r her wonderful grade in that late t geo– graph · te t kept her parent bu y prai ing her. Naturally, Tom ' ould ha,·e receiYcd a much prai e if h eYer informed hi parent of hi uc- e e . but he didn't both r b cau h felt. "Who would care anyway?" Later in the ev ning Tom got hi jacket, walked out the door and I ft. Thi time h clo ed th door qui tly behind him. o one had a ked him wher he wa going for the imp] r a on that no one wa aware of hi departure. Tom' mother and ·nthia wer aiving the bab a bath. whil Mr. O~i b am– ingly up rvi d the procedure. Tom had been im·ited to join in the fun. but he f It that it wa be– low hi di nity. ) The la t thing Tom h ard before he clo ed the door , a hi mother aring ·'Oh you cut litde thing. Aren't you weet?" Out in th cold, dark. imper onal night. Tom f It lonely. He wa con– fu ed and hurt; he didn't know what to do. He had mad a tentative date with orne of the fellow to go bo' ling but he wa n't in the mood to ee hi ·gang." Tom finally de– cid d to go to Perry' Drug tore and get a coke. None of the people he 5