Normal Star (San Marcos, Tex.), Vol. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, March 29, 1912 Page: 4 of 6
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NORMAL, STAR
A Great Trouble
(People always called me a pessi-
mist. I didn’t know what that
meant and was ashamed to ask.
When I came to the Normal I had
the good fortune to meet with a
teacher who kindly and patiently ac-
quainted me with the Standard Dic-
tionary. This was my chance,
I would at last find what they meant.
I turned W pessimist and here is
what I found: Pessimist: One given
to desponding views; one who ha-
bitually exaggerates evil; and some
more that i didn’t take time to read.
That didn’t help me much for some
of those words meant less to me
than pessimist. Finally I summed up
courage to ask one of the boys what
a pessimist was and he said it was
a fellow who didn't see any bright
things in life. I knew that I some-
times saw the sun and it was bright,
so I made bold to ask him what
some of the bright things were. The
old fellow gave me a searching look
and then said, “Smiles are some of
the bright things.” That was all the
clue I needed. They wouldn’t have
a chance to call me a pessimist again
for I would see every smile that
was in my range of sight.
The nex.t morning i had reached
the foot of the Normal Hill before
i remembered about looking for
smiles. I stopped and looked around
me and not far away was a little
girl with a smile—I guess! I look-
ed in the direction she was looking
and saw the cause. Just a few
steps from her was another smile
but it was on a boy’s face this
time. The first thing I knew that
boy and girl were walking up t^ie
hill together. “Well,” thought I,
‘‘there’s two smiles.” I looked back
at that couple the next minute and
saw two more. I tried it again, and
again, and then again, and every
time there were two very plain
smiles. The smiles were beginning
to count up fast. “They think they’ll
make me believe that each time I
look there are two new smiles. I’ll
just watch all the time and see
about it.” Have any of you ever
tried to walk up the hill backwards?
Some fellow had put a stone in my
pathway or perhaps it was the hand
of Providence. My heel hit that
stone and I sat flat in the middle
of the road with my books and pa-
pers scattered all around. There
was a big crowd of people around
and I think that only one in the
crowd didn’t have a smile. I didn’t
try to count them, but I saw them—
more than I wanted to see, too.
I went on into chapel and saw
quite a number of smiles. Even
on the platform I saw quite a lot
of smiles exchanged. “I know we
will have exams today,” thought I,
“the teachers have such knowing
smiles.” I began to think about the
questions that some of ’em might
ask and didn’t see any more smiles
for some time. During the rest of
the day I carefully noted the faces
of my fellow pupils and made writ-
ten or mental record of each smile
that I detected. “I guess I’m not a
pessimist now,” I said, “1 have seen
so many sickening smiles today that
my head is almost ready to swim.”
That night at the supper table I
decided to settle the question once
and for all, “Say fellows,” I said,
“I have watched good today and saw
more smiles than I could count.” A
look of surprise went round the
table and finally came back to me.
“Well, dummy,” said one, “what of
that?” “You have been calling me
a pessimist and I don’t deserve that
name any longer for I do see
smiles,” I answered. Would you
believe it, every fellow at that
table laughed and they said that
looking at all those smiles had not
made a particle of difference. I bet
I don’t look for ’em any more. I
had rather be a pessimist than go
through that ordeal again.
Men’s new style Straw Hats, spec-
ial prices, $2.39 down to 79c. Alex
L. Adams.
ARE YOU PATRIOTIC?
Plave you ever stopped to think
that the time for the Denton de-
bate is almost here? Little is heard
of the subject as the days of Nor-
mal life come and go. Has it oc-
curred to you that the debaters have
a very slim chance of winning, if
they are unsupported?
Last fall, when our boys went forth
to battle on the football field, We
showed them by our deeds that we
were going to stand by them. We
were not afraid to use our voices
when we felt that we were cheering
our boys. Are we willing to let
only two of our boys “gjo” it alone
and not make them feel that they
have our confidence and esteem?
We cannot afford to lose in the
debate. And we are not going to
lose. S. W. T. N. has won in the
last three contests. With such a
record behind us and such debaters
in the field we WILL WIN.
Rouse all of your school spirit and
self-pride and show the debaters that
beyond a doubt you have their inter-
est at heart and they will nobly re-
spond. If you do this, Denton is
sure to go down in defeat. She will
then be compelled to look upon S.
W. T. N. as her leader. Show your
spirit and soon old S. W. T. N. will
be considered the leader in the Tex-
as Normal family.
F. G.
-a -
Ladies’ new Colonial Slippers,
white Nabuck, $3.50 and $4.00 values;
special for, only, $2.95. Alex L. Ad-
ams.
u
ID
o
lit!
NOT GOOD AFTER APRIL ■21, 1912
Serve To IVl.......................................
Free-One Pomona Sundae - Free
A Pomona Suidae is the most deiiciou's of deli-
cacies served at our fountain.
M.................................................
Not Transferable
SAN MARCOS PHARMACY
WEST SIDE OF SQUARE.
in
CJi
a
This is a cut of the Ticket all Normal students will receive from
Mr. Sherman Culwell. Be sure and get a ticket FREE.
HIGH GRADE PICTURES
A T 'PUT?
OPERA HOUSE
EVERY NIGHT.
PROGRAM CHANGED DAILY.
Berkley Livery Company
LIVERY AND TRANSFER
Carriages to all parts of tlie city. Meet all trains. Open
all night. Ring us, Phone 59.
CRUNK & ZIMMERMAN, Props.
San Marcos, Texas.
COME TO THE
NORMAL GROCERY
. For Your Picnic, Fishing and
School Supplies
THEY ARE FRESH ALL THE TIME.
D. G. JONES
BREVARD'S
THE VERY LATEST IN THE
NEW STYLE
H ats~—Stetsons
AND THE CHEAPER MAKES
The Straw Hats are Here.
“Emery” Shirts, $1.00, $1.50 and $2.00.
See our line of Trousers at $4.00, $5.00 and $6.00.
H. BREVARD CO
THE BETTER LINES.
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Normal Star (San Marcos, Tex.), Vol. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, March 29, 1912, newspaper, March 29, 1912; San Marcos, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth614250/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas State University.