*from 2009, because it’s that season, fully aware that this is very specific to my town, my life and much, much less brilliant than the Ursula Le Guin commencement speech I posted yesterday!! That said, hey, happy happy to all grads and their parental units everywhere. So much has changed since I gave this little speech. Sigh.
Hello and thank you. It is clear to me that the class of 2009, in inviting me to speak today – was looking for a serious speaker to speak seriously in a serious tone on matters of great serious-ity due to the serious nature of this very serious occasion, and as a reflection of their own depth and seriousness as serious young persons embarking upon the next great and very serious chapter of their lives.
And so, with great solemnity, let me begin with these timeless and fitting words from one of the greatest (if not the greatest) song poems of the 20th century: the Theme from Love Story – “Where do I begin – to tell the story of how great a love can be – a true love story that is older than the sea – the simple truth about the love you bring to me, where do I start? With your first hello you gave a meaning to this empty world of mine there’ll never be another class like 0-0-9 – you came into my life and made the living fine – you fill my heart, (sung) you fill my heart!!!”
But seriously folks this is a great day and I welcome the class of 2009 to the best club I ever joined: the alumni of M_______ Central School. I know it is appropriate and fashionable at your ages to begrudge any praise of and for your Alma Mater – your soul mother as translated from the Latin – but really, was it that bad? Did the 13 or 7 or 2 years you spent at MCS ruin your short little lives? I don’t think so – in fact I think you had fun here; you met your peers and classmates, you learned something and grew up comfortably cradled in a gorgeous setting doing what was asked and required of you to get you to your individual next best place. Congratulations – your lives as relatively carefree youngsters are over; student loans, rent, mortgages, insurance, credit card bills, utility bills, debt and hardy har har your own teenaged children await you! And you were in a rush to grow-up?! You fools – you fools!!!!!
Like every generation of students before you – you have been in a rush to get to your future and have forgotten this one absolute truth: this moment right now, this present reality is the only moment you – or anyone – has – so be here now. BE HERE NOW and be thankful for what you have learned and who you have encountered on the way to this moment because good, bad, or indifferent – this place and these people are what you are made of. This place is a part of you love it or not and the smart choice is to love it because it is a part of you, of your personal story, your personal history, and nothing will ever change that. Make the smart choice and love it, embrace it, celebrate it always, not just today at the finish line – for believe me the way you speak of and tell your story as you go forward in life will end up being the way you think and feel about yourself – so chose to see the good in all and feel good, no – chose to feel great about this place – your family, your peers, teachers, coaches and community.
And if someone asks you where you went to high school or grew up throw open your arms and announce – if you dare and I dare you – to say M-ville! F_____manns! A___ville! Or get romantic and say on the banks of the R___kill, or the bubbling M___brook –in dusky D____en, K_____ C____ers – H_________ Center – or – if you were very, very lucky you can say – I grew up in New K________! And help me as the newest members of the MCS alumni club in bringing back to the greater MCS community a more palpable sense of school spirit. That’s’ right, I said it, school spirit. It sounds old-fashioned, but it’s not – it’s about individual ownership of what is a fact – this is your school, this is your history – make the smart choice and love it. And if you think it’s not cool to have school spirit – think again. I have it – I have school spirit and I am very cool – therefore school spirit is cool – and let me call out to one or two of my fellow alums – J________ M_______! (are you here?) Sparky – do you have school spirit? And is he cool, why yes he is – therefore school spirit is cool – K______ B________? Do you have school spirit? K______ G_____, E______ H_________, C________ C__________ and J____ M_________ – do you have school spirit? Of course you do!
I don’t know how many of you know B__ H__________, Casey’s grandfather, or my beloved pop Richard Mueller – they are in the alumni club, they attended MCS – and they did so in the days when term papers were written on deer hides they cleaned themselves by a roaring fire and the few books they had were written in Sanskrit only to be interpreted by teachers as old and decrepit as Methuselah! They had to fashion their pens from turkey quills they plucked at dawn behind the old MCS outhouse – and despite all that or perhaps because of it – B____ H________ is cool – my dad is cool – they have school spirit – school spirit is cool. And cool is a state of living in the present moment, of not apologizing for who you are and where you come from but being proud of it no matter what. And cool is not knowing exactly where you’re going but knowing it will be good because you have said so. Cool is keeping, no matter what happens to you and how strongly you feel about anything and everything, an open mind and open heart and resisting the pressure to be anything other than true to yourselves.
I think you all remember the legendary J_____ B_______ – you all know how cool he is – J____, my brother alum – do you have school spirit? – J________ B_________ is cool – school spirit is cool, class of 2009 and 2010 and 2011 and on and on……no one can resist the call of the aging cheerleader!! And why, class of 2009 would you want to – in fact, would all those alums who are here stand-up please for a sec – these are your parents, your sisters and brothers and cousins, uncles and aunts, grandparents, your local business owners, school board members, community leaders, aides, custodians and teachers – your community who love and support you and have watched you grow up – they are the club you have, in graduating today, joined. (You may be seated, fellow alums) And they are fabulous people.
How do I know? I know like I know like I know like I know – in part because I am one of them and I am fabulous – flawed, absolutely, sure, but doing my best which is all any of us can ever do. School spirit – it’s the smart choice and fun (you all know how I love fun). Loving where you are from and who you shared the journey with is a form of loving yourselves, and above all today, I wish you to go forth to love and nurture and treasure yourselves as you meet whatever challenges you will face. And never forget, class of 2009 – and here let me quote a truly great 20th century poet-philosopher, Olivia Newton-John, – never forget that, “ I love you, I honestly love you – I honestly…. love you.”
Thank you.