What a different day this has been from yesterday last night! Altho all morning it was cloudy and cold, but at noon, the clouds began to break and presently only solitary white clouds were racing across the delicate blue, the sun shone forth, warm and bright; the snow began to disappear; ground a- roofs sent up clouds of steam, and a cool wind rippled the bright tiny pools in ruts and on the sidewalks.
“It seems so like spring to-day” remarked Mother. And so it did; each day, despite occasional frosts and storms, it gets to feel more like spring.
After school we had a meeting of the class, to choose the invitations for commencement; finally, after much discussion one of the seven, which suited the majority, was chosen. The time seem to be “drawing nigh.” - Miss Tate has spoken of it to me and we have our speaker - a Mr. Pierson - already decided upon and now the invitations are chosen.
To-day Bill and I got a funny streak and assailed each other with puns and poetry. This noon between bells, he handed me a match and said:
“How does that strike you?”
“It makes quite a hit,” I replied"
“You’re no match for me” be continued.
Alas I wasn’t - at the moment for I couldn’t think of anything to say, but a few minutes later I broke the head off the the stem and put it in a piece of paper in which I wrote
“This is quite matchless: Nicht uahr? and you can’t stem its progress.”
Back came his answer “yet it is a matchless, but you’d better stick around.” At the end of the first period, he nudged me as we were passing into room 7; I thought he had a note for me so I put my hand behind me; into it he dropped the matchhead! I thought I’d have revenge so after I had studied my History and German, I wrote the following note:
“That you are getting heady,
Must certainly be admitted;
And I get very unsteady,
When against you I am pitted
So thank you for this head
For I’d be in a sorry plight
Since for wit in vain I have pled
With this I’ll be a shining light!”
I gave it to him after German recitation and just before History recitation started, he scribbled off with a rapidity that made me gasp, the following elegy:
Here take my congratulations
For you they’re certainly due;
For of all poet writers
You’re the best I ever knew!
You can rhyme on anything
And are good at sticking around
In fact the best I ever seen
Especially when someone intends to skin a bean.
I started a poem but Mr. Lease came over and watched so I desisted. Bill however managed to write this:
“Stick around” said Charles.
“And we will skin a bean,
For a t this little stunt
I’m the best you ever seen.
Another stunt of men
Is the skinning of a grape
And at this I’ve practiced
Until I’m in fine shape.
But when it comes to skinning
That surely is my line
For every hour I work
I skin someone but of a dime!
After school as we were walking up High St. Bill asked me:
“What are you going to do to-night?”
“I guess I’ll work at the posters.” I replied. Are you going to paint them?”
“Yes; come on over - maybe I’ll skin a paint tube”.
After supper he came over and we had lots of fun, talking nonsense about everything. I got his picture drawn.
Charles E. Burchfield, Monday March 6, 1911