Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
Page 6 THE FERRET SEZ Verhovay Journal July 25, 1945 ||l!ll|l!pillllllllllli;i,Ellliiiail!lllllllllli!!!Cliiili!llilliii liiiiiiiiiiii SUMMER PLANS ‘ The little pup in the corner of the Detroit Times’ weather corner hits the nail on the head when he truthfully states: “Will trade; July cruise ticket for snow train seat.” Honestly, when folks call in reporting snow in July, it makes a fellow wonder if perhaps a swim on Christmas Day is not indicated. THE CRUISE At last, the big day comes for that long awaited cruise. But, gee, folks, we had to wait for Warmer weather because we’d have had to take our fur coats had we sailed in the last two Weeks! If it doesn’t rain or storm, the day for the cruise will be Sunday, Aug. 5. The Skipper will take us on an all day cruise for a set price, or if a picnic and swim on shore is desired, he’ll sail to any island we choose, leave us, and pick us up at a stated time. By calling our committee members, full details will be given out, and reservations must be made in advance as life preservers for all those sailing must be procured, as this is a strict rule of the river coast guard. Since children’s life preservers are hard to get, and the 45 foot cruiser is hot particularly conducive to the safety of romping kids, only adults and older teen-agers (who can wear adult preservers) should participate. But don’t worry, We’ve a day planned fo* those mischievous kids, too, where they ' can romp and play to their hearts content in perfect safety. Call Mrs. Gene Fisher, VInewood 2-4517;' Mrs. Irene MacLeod, VInewood 1-0521; Mrs. Mary Horvath, VInewood 2-8668, or myself at VInewood 1-8779, and We will be glad to give you further information and prices. By giving you these housewives’ phone numbers, we feel certain that one of us will be at home for your convenience. Pack a big lunch . . . find some films for your cameras . . . bring your swim suits and shorts . . . and prepare for a big day in that 45 foot cruiser which has an open deck all around, a sun deqk and a large cabin compartment where we can dance; that is, if some of you gals bring your portable phonographs and records like on the last trip. Let’s hope it’s not too breezy with a following sea . . . you know, beware of sea-sickness! GET READY FOR THE BIG DAY—SUNDAY, AUG. 5. THE RELIEF PICNIC Tentative date for the Relief Picnic will be either the last Sunday in August or the first Sunday in September. By the time the next issue rolls off the press, you will have the exact date to ring with a red pencil. A tremendous surprise development is in store for our Relief Picnic which should knock the props from under all past affairs of this nature. Since preliminary plans are still in the embryonic stages, Your Ferret is not at liberty to disclose more at this time. However, please watch for further details in the next issue. It will be entertainment of dynamic appeal—for the enjoyment of all ages—for the RELIEF OF SUFFERING HUMANITY. Rumors have been going about that there is a wide split in this Relief Movement. It!s difficult for Americans to understand why (any one should buck a vast hu-By 44 Mrs. Jolán Lucas! .......it wi'u.. manitarian movement for selfish motives such as political beliefs, leaders and the fact that all American-Hungarians are expected to do their part regardless of creed or politics. The main issue is FEEDING AND CLOTHING suffering peoples, and if personal dislikes and hates keep us from aiding those less fortunate than ourselves, we have no right to the benefits allowed and cherished by a democratic government, which has always helped the “under dog.” Let’s stop fretting about personal or political grievances and get on the to important task of helping the other fellow! More news about the Relief Picnic in next issue. How Shall I Act When He Returns? rf A great deal is being written I unworrled existence before the Marie Gallovich, one of our most active members, has something up her sleeve. She called me one day and requested a list of phone numbers of 429 membets as she has an idea for a Social Party for our next official meeting. I don’t know exactly What it’s all about, although she has given me an inkling, but when her call comes through, please co-operate with her. That’s what I like about you folks! So many swell ideas, and the co-operation to carry it through to success. Marie will be home from her vacation in Texas on July 30, so expect your phone calls shortly after that time. VACATION NOTES: Mr. and Mrs. John Fisher had a grand time at a lake with a tricky Indian name near Gladwin, Mich. . . . Mary Kuritar visited relatives in Richmond, Ind. . . . Nicholas Horvath and family had to spend their vacation at home due to an accident to Member Sylvia. The little six-year-old got burned when 'the mean old man next door decided to bum his rubbish and dry grass WITHOUT the protection of a metal container. Sylvia is now in Grace Hospital with severe burns, but is recuperating nicely, with only a degree or two of temperature. BEWARE OF OPEN FIRES, which are left unprotected . . . Mrs. Julius Szalay and children were in Omaha, Neb., the home of her parents. . . . Mrs. Irene MacLeod and her kid sister, Mary Szalay, paid a flying visit to Chicago, shopping headed the list . . . By the way, the MacLeods and Szalays are partners in a florist business at 7018 W. Jefferson avenue. Call VInewood 1-0521 for excellent floral arrangements . . . Andrew Boonie has recuperated from a mild nervous breakdown due to overwork in a defense plant . . . Andy will find that our cruise will be just the tonic he needs! . . . Jeannette Parsons and William Horvath are spending their vacation at Dearborn’s Sea Shore Pool, where Bill is cashier in the men’s department, and our Amazonian “Gin” is the stately life guard. What better place to spend a vacation than a beautiful pool, and sleeping in one’s own bed at nite! . . . Saw Sgt. Johnny “Dirk” Phillips in Pittsburgh ... he was home on furlough and looks like a million!----------------v---------------Kish—What kind of a school is your son attending? Nagy—Very fashionable—one of those institutions where you develop the mind without using it. about how to “act” and how to “behave” when the veterans return. Suggestions galore are showered upon the expectant and excited public which developed a welcoming fever since the European war came to a victorious conclusion. Perhaps there isn’t a newspaper or magazine that hadn’t taken up this question and dealt with it according to the light of its columnists. Psychiatrists and social experts constitute the greatest group of advisers whose mostly contradictory suggestions have succeeded, at least, in confusing the public which is dangerously close to developing an inferiority complex in its relationship with the returning veterans, We, Americans, have a tendency to lean heavily on the opinions of what we call “experts”. The trouble, however, is that, we invite the wrong specialists, like the proverbial man of the backwoods who called a veterinarian to hbj sick wife on the ground that if the Doc’ could cure his horse he could also help his wife. Though all. respect is due to psychiatrists, we shouldn’t forget that they deal exclusively with abnormal people. Year in, year out, from morning to late, the long procession of people with twisted minds move 'through their offices and wards. They are. so absorbed by the abnormalities of the human mind, that they develop a tendency to notice or suspect abnormity in every human being and to treat even their neighbors and friends as if there was “something wrong” with them. Social workers are in the same boat. They deal with humanity at its lowest ebb and lose contact with their clients as soon as they are established and settled in normal circumstances. They have little chance to observe humanity in its normal condition. They, too, develop the tendency to sense a social problem wherever they turn. VETERANS ARE NORMAL MEN Excepting the small percentage of nervous cases, all veterans are normal people. True, they had harrowing experiences. True, they have seen the ravages of death and heard the agonized cries of their wounded comrades. True, they had to face danger and death at every turn for a number of years under circumstances which are entk^lv abnormal and to which no human being should be ex-<"1 posed. The trouble with psychiatrists and social workers is that they — exceptions granted, of course —believe that abnormal circumstances will have abnormal effects on the nervous system and the mental condition of the person exposed to them. Indeed, they have such effects but we must never forget that the human being has an enormous mental resiliency and immense sources for quick recovery. This is true particularly in the case of young men who in their peaceful and war had no cause to tap t£i~e resources which, consequently, are at their disposal in their original strength and abundance. It is marvellous how the young spirit can survive series of tragedies and how soon it recovers from the deepest shock. When speaking of veterans, this should be taken into consideration and, therefore, the veterans should be treated as normal people who by the time they get home from the distant battlefields are completely cured by the offsetting effects of battlefield experiences. When they are withdrawn from the battle-lines, they are glad and the gladness begins to counter-act the memories of horrible experencis. During the weeks of their homeward journey the growing happiness of soon seeing their folks begins to balance all that happened before. And when the veteran puts his arms around his mother and when he first kisses his sweatheart or his wife, the immensely powerful emotion 0 sweeps out the residues of battle experiences. This is true in the great majority of cases. Most of the veterans have the normal mental resiliency of youth and it is all wrong to “treat” them as if they just had returned from the most harrowing bloodbath. Such men come home on winged feet. Their heart is full with sunshine, hope and the hap- Py certainty that it’s all over now. But they’ll get a new shock when they find their amilies and friends in a state of awkward reservation, obviously afraid to talk to them thinT “ th6re was somethev JT m b6CaUSe 0f which they have to be treated like convalescents. THEY’LL HAVE NIGHTMARES. Of course, that which they are »me back their dreams. They may scream in their dreams Forgotten and deeply buried mecrawiS V fan.geroUs moments will subconscious0 míndre cold" °f wiH break out alf over Them Tnd hh:,r ^ WiU be sufficient to set won’7 famÍly int° Panic' But wont you remember that you though I"6 nightmares, even though you never were on the JUST BE' NATURAL. A real man resents being fussed over. He wants more than anything to get back into living normally. Therefore, treat him normally. He is no stranger. He hasn’t changed! He still loves his parents .and if there is any change at all, it is that he loves them more than ever. He still is in love with his girl and if there is any change at all, he loves her more than ever. He still loves his home and that, too, more than ever. The lack of all this has increased his appreciation of them. Above all: give vent to your feelings! Don’t suppress them. Don’t act as if you had prepared for his return by attending. a course for “how to treat returning veterans in 10 easy lessons”. Put your arm around him and cry, if you feel like it, he’ll probably like crying '"ilh you and it will do a world of good to all concerned. DO THE BOYS CHANGE? All the theories concerning the “treatment of veterans” are based on the assumption that the experiences of war have wrought a great change in the personality of the soldiers, It is assumed that they’ll be nervous, irritable, impatient and, above all, hardened. Nothing is farther from the truth. Sufferings and deprivations don’t harden character. If anything, they purify and ennoble character. The dangers of war develop a yearning for the safety of the home. The cold, disagreeable, chargedwith-death atmosphere of the battlefields results in an increasing yearning for their loved ones. The witnessing of so much suffering, pain and tragedy develop the capacity for sympathy, understanding and gentleness. How many times did we cry out when we dreamt of a crash while driving or falling out of the tenth floor window of an office building? This writer’s father had recurrent dreams about his examinations at the university. That dream made him grown and' sweat and roll around in his bed and he had to be awakened about once every week. Nightmares are no reason for the family to start crying for the “poor boy”. There is a very simple cure for nightmares. Simply shake him and tell him: “I see son, you had a nightmare.” Invariably his answer will be a smiling: “Thanks for waking me up.” The last world war serves proof to all these contentions. We talk daily with veterans of the first world war and, more often than not, we learn by accident only that they have been in the bloody battles of France. They are just as natural, just as human, just as kind and understanding as anyone else who never was near a battlefield. It will be the same way this time and it is only natural that it be that way. TRAGEDIES ARE PART OF LIFE. There is no question about it: was is horrible, unnatural, and tragic. But we are apt ío look upon war from a distorted point of view. Sudden death, danger, calamities are parts of peacetime existence as well as of living in war. It is only because the tragedies are multiplied by the million vthat war has such a sinister meaning for us. In peacetime, too, miners died by the scores in subterranean explosions and the sufferings of the soldiers on the front have nothing (Continued on Page 7)
