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PAGE 2-THE MERCER CLUSTER-MARCH 4.1963
EDITORIAL
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Mercer Cluster
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Editor
Business Manager
Sally C Shoemaker
Andrew M. Eigen berg
Editorial
Tearful Goodbye -
M*A*S*H Has Ended
By Lynn Hamilton
One of the best television programs
ever written ended this week in a flood of
tears. Almost all of Mercer stopped
^studying for finals and typing papers to
see the Korean war end And the beloved
characters of M*A # S*H say farewell to
each other and to us.
It was an extremely well done final
episode. I haven’t cried so much during
a M*A*S*H program since Hawkeye
missed telling Trapper goodbye and
Henry Blake was killed on the same
show.
It’s been on television for so long now,
I can’t remember what we watched in
that time slot before it joined the weekly
line-up. It seems almost as if a loved one
ha* died-we can’t quite believe that it’s
over. Thankfully, it will be around in
hms
reruns for years to come. I wonder, will
our children laugh over reruns of
M*A*S*H ten years from now and ask us
how we could ever have watched such a
show, as we do over “Leave It To
Beaver” and ”My Three Sons?” What
will we tell them? That it was a classic.
I’ll always remember the chill that ran
up and down my spine when a voice on
the final episode announced that the war
had ended. From that moment, it was
flood time for me. Tears fell as goodbyes
were said, and especially in the last few
minutes when Hawkeye and B.J. said
their farewells. At that point I began to
sob. It was almost as if I was watching
two people I knew part - possibly
forever. *. ^
It was real, or so it seemed. A fitting
tribute to a great television program. I’ll
miss it - Hawkeye and B.J., and their
hilarious antics, as well as the deep and
moving friendship they shared. Klinger
and his zany attempts to get a discharge,
Winchester and his snobbishness,
Margaret and all the rest.
Funny, now that its - over. I can
remember thinking that if M*A*S*H
ever went off the air (and who ever
thought it would?) it would be a perfect
ending to make the war end. But the war
ended, and I'm not totally satisfied - V*
hate thinking that the characters won’t
be together ever again. I think of them as
a family, and now the family is broken.
Farewell to M*A*S*H. FH miss it
more than I realized.
Mercer Cluster
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor
CLUSTER STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS
U« Balco, Liao Be Hem y, Clark Daily, Jack Hamm,
Craig Hifgioa. Ron HOI. Craig Hunter, Sieve Preston and John Young.
The CLUSTER in a weekly publication of Mercer Univeraity. The ideaa ezpreaaed
herein are thoae of the editor or the individual authora and do not neceaaarily
repreaent the viewa of the Board of Student Publication, or the faculty or etlfl of
Student Publication, or the faculty or ataff of Mercer University. Address all
inquiries to CLUSTER. Box A. Mercer University, Macon. Georgia. 31207.
Latters to the Editor are adapted if signed by author. Name will be withheld upon
Deadlines for all materials is Monday at 5:00 p.m.
Where Do We Go From Here?
By Sally C. Shoemaker
Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Yes, it is that time again. The end of Winter Quarter always brings to mind several
decisions that need to be made. There seems to be an invisible pressure held over us
all in several instances. Many students are required to declare their majors this
quarter. Many still have nc fdea of what to put in that blank on the form. Seniors are
feeling a special pressure as the date of graduation time nears. They realize that it is a
beginning as well as and end. I salute seniors now as this time draws near.
There must be an unsettling fear in the unknown for those graduating. I have heard
many express that they are ready to be through with classes and studying but are not
ready to leave the cocoon of Mercer life and enter the world where the rat’s race is for
the biggest piece of cheese. The panic is real. Many express that they are not manure
enough to be “let out.” How true for any of ua! We are called upon to decide here and
now what we are going to do with the rest of our lives. How can they ask us that? How
are we supposed to know? Responsibility is a fearful thing yet a must. Our parents,
professors, or pastors can neither teach us or show us hotr to react to that thing,
responsibility.
How are we then to act responsibly if we neither know how in our minds or in our
actions? This is of course the tricky part of life. We’can only know by doing. Doing of
course gives the opportunity for mikakes. The fear of failure is a social evil; an evil
that we run from "While getting no further from it. The learning process for
responsibility then is pain. The pain of facing what is real. Facing the troth that we are
temporary, imperfect, and all too often selfish, becomes the only path to survival.
Panic is our enemy as we make decisions from the most trivial to that of life
commitment.
How then are we to handle the situation of responsibility? Face it! Running never
gets any of us anywhere. We have only made the decision to not decide. Apathy runs
in our veins and we can never be still. New beginnings are often an answer. The new
quarter will bring the opportunity to start over. How lucky we are that newness can be
chosen and days go on. There is not a big button that is pushed when we make a
mistake that stamps us as “REJECT” and disposes of us properly. No there is again
tomorrow . there is the immediate moment to decide to start over or to wallow in
indecision.
What is life, but a series of decisions.
Mother says I am at the panic age. If you hear a scream on March 13, it might be
someone suffering from frustration while studying for finals, yet it most likely will be
me as I stop to observe a moment of obvious panic.
Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Column
From My Open Window:
By Crmig Hunter
Tune.
It is that time of yav again. Winter
quarter - and ail of ua are absolutely
swamped with work to do. There is most
certainly not enough time to finish
everything we have begun, so we try to
get by with half-way done work, and
consequently get little to nothing out of
our studies. We would love to sit back
and try to correct the situation, but we
just don't have the time.
Our hasty existence is slowly
destroying ua. We suffer from hyperten
sion ; we lash out in at least verbal
violence. We loee touch with even our
best friends; we yell at those whom we
mo* love. We eat too much too fast, and
we even have chains of "fast food"
stores. We offer seminars on time
management, but who has the time to
go? And in an effort to strike back at the
domination of time, we waste it-"k01ing
time. ' we call it - and thus make our
situation worse.
The Bible offers some practical advice
on the problem. Paul told the Colosiaus
to redeem the tune,'' meaning simply
to reclaim it - to make the moat of every
opportunity - to use time as it should be
used rather than allowing it to use you.
. Jequs toils ps not to be anxious about
time as well. The cure he gives for
anxiety is a simple maxim: “Seek first
the Kingdom of God and its righteous
ness, and all of these things shall be
addqf) unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
Of course, this will be dismissed by
many not as practical advice but as
simply another barren platitude. But the
Christian knows more. Jesus’ command
is simply to put the glory of God above
all other concerns. And when this is
done, it will make a radical change in a
person's entire life. It will change his
priorities, his commitments, his convic
tions, his attitudes. Those things which
so regulate his time making Him a
temporal slave - will be subjected to
God. Change will occur, and this change
will affect every part of his being and
every element of his action.
There is another side of time as well.
The passing of time reminds us of our
finitude - reminds us that our life is but a
vapor which quickly passes away.
There is only one solution to the
overwhelming slavery r^to which time
often forces us: to say with Moses.
from everlasting to everlasting thou art
God" (Psalm 90:1).
That is the view from my open
window...