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MARCH 2, 1957. THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA FIVE Jottings ... (By BARBARA C. JENCKS) WHO IS the all-American girl? /hat is your concept of her? We ear much talk about the all- .merican girl t\ - pe. Is it com- limentary to be called an all- .merican girl? Let us look at ae qualifications which appear to go with the title. In aa recent issue of ‘'Life” magazine ten pag es were devoted to presenting the all-American girl at her most beautiful best.” It would seem then that physical attributes had much to do with such selections. “She is what most women in U. S. want to be.” the sub title said. The all-American girl- we gather ed from the introduction, must have an unaffected naturalness, healthy fresh good looks and de votion to the out-of-doors. In some sections of the country, the picture of Miss All-American va ries. She would be tall, athletic looking in one section; demure and graceful in another and ele gantly poised in still another. However young women from all sections of the U. S. radiate the “unaffected naturalness that through movie, and magazine has become the world-wide sym bol of the all-American girl” states the article. It goes no fur ther. It seems then that we are all-American women or girls only so far as our skin has a peaches and cream complexion, our eyes sparkle and our hair shines. No thing was said abgut, inner- beauty or strength. The all- American girl then would be the pretty debutante rather than the dedicated social worker or nurse. AND SO we see what has be come as accepted as the a 11- American girl type. She is some thing of a cardboard paper doll. Unaffected naturalness has be come “world-wide symbol of the all-American girl.” The classic cashmere sweater and tweed skirt is her uniform. She must be a whizz on the tennis or golf course and naturally we expect her to play bridge and dance and have a conversational acquaintance with French. There are legions who school their young daughters to the belief that this is all ye need know. Who then aspires to the all-American girl title? I sup pose there are some who really would prefer to be called pretty or well-dressed than fine, good and lead worthwhile lives. It is the chase for the external and the good appearance. MY VOTE for the all-American girl would go toward the young collegiate who works her Way through college; the secretary who struggles with sleep each morn ing but wins and assists at daily Mass: the student who gives up cigarettes and sends the money to missions; the one who spends her holidays and ; Saturdays do ing volunteer work in the hos pitals; and the nurse and teacher whose time is governed by the need of the moment not the clock. I wouldn't care what kind of hair cut or complexion or fig ure. And what about those all- American nuns who no longer wear the classic sweater and skirt but are swathed in yards of black serge not for fashion’s sake but for God and neighbor’s sake. If anyone was to receive the all- American salutation, it would be these women from California, Il linois, Texas and Rhode Island who give their lives “Pro Deo et Pro Patria.” WHO IS the all-American girl in my mind? I borrow the eulogy of the valiant woman from the Book of Wisdom to paraphrase her. “Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the utter most coasts is the price of her. . . She hath girded her loins with strength . . . Strength and beauty are her clothing . . . She hath op ened her mouth to wisdom and the law of clemency is on her your Lump Sum Savings • * * Set aside your accumulated cash funds with this specialized Savings Association , . . where your money consistently earns hlgher-than-average earnings . . . without worry, work, or risk on your part. Every six months, you’ll receive a check for the extra dollars your savings have earned. Open your account this week! Mutual Federal Savings & Loan Association JACKSON 3-8282 205 AUBURN AVENUE, N. E. ATLANTA, GA. Current Dividend Rate 3’/2 Percent Per Annum Each Account Insured Up To $10,000.00 SAVE BY MAIL BACKDROP- (Continued from Page 4) “must” television programs—like the Friday night fights—consume all their free hours. The work day is shorter than it ever has been and we all have more leisure than our forefathers had, but none for reading. ON THE MOVE Allied to this obsession that we have so little time, Miss Wat kins notes, is our compulsion to be on the move. Americans spend billions erecting and furnishing homes and then spend as little time in them as they possibly can. And on the few evenings when they do stay home, the mere thought of sitting down with a book frightens them. --*;Most of us, writes Miss Wat kins, seem to believe “that there is a kind of idleness about read ing and thinking over that we have read; and that it is wrong to be idle. Here in America we have some idea that unless we are physically active, we are be ing idle. And we carry this no tion to such an absurd degree, that many of us imagine that spending an entire afternoon at a card table is somehow being less idle than spending it alone with a book.” A HOPELESS SITUATION? Booksellers tell us that the sales of the Bible, the greatest of all books, exceed those of any other and increase year by year. If this be true—and there is no reason to dispute the claim— who is reading it? The ignorance among Catholics of Sacred Scripture was the sub ject of a recent address to a group of Catholic pro fessional men by Father Martin C. D’Arcy, the brilliant English Jesuit. He told about encountering one Catholic who thought Sodom and Gomorrah were brother and sis ter. The priest may have been speaking in jest, but who can deny that today the Bible is lit tle read? Is it possible, we may ask, for modern Americans to return to the reading habits of their fore fathers? Or is the situation that exists today just as hopeless as the situation in England appear ed to Belloc in 1911? If the an swer must be in the affirmative, then we shall have to continue to bemoan the paradox that the most “literate” country in the world is in grave danger of be coming a nation of illiterates. tongue. Favor is deceitful and the beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” That is the kind of women we would seek to be and wish were synonymous with all- American as a world-wide sym bol. SENSIBLE RATESi ■ YOU CAN WIN CONVERTS A Spiritual Chain Reaction By REV. JOHN A. O'BRIEN, Ph. D. .(University of Noire Dame), You’ve heard of a chain reac tion, in physics, especially in con nection with the splitting of an atom and the unleashing of its tremendous energy. The splitting of one atom leads to the splitting of a whole chain of atoms which is the se cret of the most stupendous po wer known to physicists. There is, how ever, a chain reaction in the spiritual sphere which yields a power and effectiveness not less than that yielded in the physical field. An illustration of this is when one conversion sets off a chain of other conversions. E. Joseph Honning. an assist ant shipping manager in Dun- ellen, New Jersey, started off such a chain. “Tell us, Mr. Honning,” I said, “how you helped to lead your first convert into the fold.” “I was keping company with Marie McKee,” he replied. “De spite her Irish name, Marie was a non-Catholic. I explained to her some of the beautiful teach ings of our holy Catholic faith and told her how much happiness I derived from its practice, es- pecially from hearing Mass and receiving Holy Communion. “I pointed out that a marriage in which both husband and wife practice the same faith would be much more stable than a mixed marriage. Religion would then be a bond, binding us more closely together, instead of a sword of possible division. I invited her to investigate the Catholic religion amd see if its credentials didn’t stamp it as the religion founded by Christ Himself. “Marie took a course of in struction from Monsignor Dunphy at St. John’s and before it was half over, was convinced of the truth of the Catholic religion and of the authority of the Church to teach in the name of her divine Founder. She embraced the faith and became a devout Catholic. , “We were married in 1938 with a Nuptial Mass and we both re ceived Holy Communion. It was the happiest day of our lives, and Marie has never failed to thank me for encouraging her to look into the Catholic religion. It is the source of our greatest peace and happiness.” Have you and Marie been able to share your treasures with others?” “Yes, Marie’s mother had died several years before, and Marie had helped to raise her two younger sisters and to manage the home for her father. The younger sisters, Dorothy and Al ice, were greatly impressed by the devotion with which Marie practiced her faith and by the joy which she derived from it. “During World War II Dorothy became a WAC, was sent over seas and while stationed abroad became a Catholic. She subse quently married a Catholic boy and they now have two children. “It was also during the war that Alice met the man she married. Though he had been baptized a Catholic in infancy, Alfred Gio- vetti had drifted away from his faith. Alice attended various churches but none of them held her interest. She remembered how much the Catholic religion had come to mean to Marie, and so she began asking us questions about it. We answered her ques tions, and gave her several pam phlets including ‘Why I Am a Catholic’, which made a particu lar appeal to her. “Alice and her family moved to Alexandria, Virginia, but they returned for a visit about four times a year. It was* during these visits that we kept her interest in the faith alive and encouraged her to take a course of instruction, then decided for herself. “When Alice went back to Al exandria, she got in touch with Father Stockert at St. Mary’s Church. He gave her a complete course of instruction and received her into the church. Her husband then returned to the practice of his faith, and their 1 children were baptized. They are now attending - St. Mary’s School.” “Splendid, Mr. Honning,” I said. “Y o u started a spiritual chain reaction which led to the conversion of Marie, Dorothy, Alice and the return of Alice’s husband to the fold. You’ve shown how we all can start such a chain reaction and thus lead millions of churchless souls each year to Christ Our Lord.” the (Manta/L^oui LUCKIE & CONS STS. Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Convenient to business and entertainment, delicious nieals in the beautiful Miami Buffet.. HARRY DONOHUE, Mgr. SPECIAL NOTE FOR SPRING NEW BAND CLASS FORMING $5 Enrollment Fee — No other cost other than Lessons INSTRUMENTS FURNISHED. Try the one of your choice: Accordion, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and guitar. Available to all who pass the qualification test. For more information return the following coupon. I am interested in the exploratory course of music training and would like to play — Dept. CB (Instr. of your choice) Name Phone Address School Age RUTAN MUSIC CO., INC. 331 PEACHTREE ST., S. E. JA. 5-5S32