Food and Other Subjects

The telephone rang, and the Chief Editorial Writer, famed and celebrated throughout the land for his fearless and colorful crusades, rolled over, picked it up, grunted at it, and started listening, "O.K. champ, you're in the slot. We're printing this morning instead of tonight on account of somebody fouled up the schedule. We need an editorial."

He was galvanized into action. Dressing like a whirlwind, his mind working like a cog, he began to work over countless fearless and colorful ideas. What, for instance, had become of the Student Council's perennially incipient investigation of food? An opening sentence popped into his teeming brain: "Neither the food nor the Student Council has shown any signs of improvement recently."

But suddenly a mood of benevolence came over him. Examinations were coming along, for Student Council members as well as for other people... and that gave him the ideas of quoting from William James on the subject of examinations.

"One ounce of good nervous tone in an examination is worth many pounds of anxious study for it in advance. If you want really to do your best in an examination, fling away the book the day before, say to yourself, 'I won't waste another minute on this miserable thing, and I don't care an iota whether I succeed or not." Say this sincerely, and feel it; and go out and play, or go to bed and sleep, and I am sure the results next day will encourage you to use the method permanently."

And having passed on this bit of wisdom, the Chief Editorial Writer went back to sleep, pausing only to wonder if the Student Council Sub-Committee on Food would get to work nice and early next term. Possibly, he thought drowsily, and if it doesn't ...well, you can't go on quoting William James forever.