Remember
your graduation? The event last Friday
at WSU was a big one for Kay’s senior students, their families and friends,
(and the welcome end of a grueling school year.) Her assignment was to go early and take
tickets immediately after other teachers sold them. A huge
crowd was obviously eager to see a long procession of graduates walking in cap
and gown, and to momentarily cheer for a favorite one. (I would wear my orange Stihl ear
protectors.)
One
mother with children pushed through without tickets. The ticket taker told her she needed tickets,
and she yelled, “No!” and raced into the arena, maybe unaware that security
guards could be called to catch her.
Hopefully the kids subsequently heard the speakers inspire the students to
be integrous (honest and fair) in order to be successful in life. (What’s a mom to do when she doesn’t want to
pay?)
The
familiar tune endlessly repeated by the school orchestra is, of course, available on YouTube: "Pomp & Circumstance March No 1 (Graduation
Walking March)" Looks like there
are over 500 videos for this – maybe thousands (not to exceed the number of cat
videos.)
“The
Pomp
and Circumstance Marches … are a series of marches for orchestra
composed by Sir Edward Elgar. … March No. 1 was composed in 1901 … the best
known of the set …”
“The
title is taken from Act III, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Othello:
Farewell the neighing steed and the
shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum,
th'ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of
glorious war!”
– en.wikipedia.org
So I
learned something: Be prepared to pay the price for graduation!
Sincere
congratulations to all the graduates!
Hopefully they earned it and will put it to work. Kudos to Kay for a teaching job well done! (So many students love her.)
(See
pics of square caps tossed in the air – available online.)
