Fielder’s Choice
Putting together our annual graduation edition, and trying to get all the photos and names straight, can be a chore. But it’s a task that I enjoy because the seniors deserve the recognition.
I’ve been putting together graduation editions for about 35 years. It was an even tougher task before we had computer programs to assist with the photos, plus the layout and design of the pages.
One thing I started doing a few years back was placing some graduation quotes to fill spaces we had on the pages.
This time around, one of my favorites, on page 8 of the graduation section, comes from Mark Twain.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
This past weekend, Pam and I drove to Alabama. Each time I pass through the city where I grew up, Hamilton, I always have fond memories of my high school days.
Most of all, I think of my friends, my teammates – the relationships I built along the way. Here’s hoping we have a 40-year class reunion in a couple of years, 2019. It would be great to see everyone.
As I’ve attended many graduation ceremonies over the years and heard lots of commencement addresses, there seems to be a common point. As classmates, you will go your different ways, but you will always be classmates. The friendships will remain friendships – no matter the distance.
Also visiting my hometown, I have special thoughts about my favorite high school teachers. Good teachers help mold us; they help prepare us for life after graduation. In my case, good teachers steered me into my career choice.
One of my favorites was Barbara Weeks. Upon my high school graduation, she gave me a small book filled with encouraging words.
Here’s one of my favorites from it – “Climb ’Til Your Dream Comes True.”
And more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too.
But always remember, the hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart start upward
And climb ’til you reach your dream.
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it
And you have the Faith to believe.
For Faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God’s wisdom and will.
For Faith is a mover of mountains.
There’s nothing that God cannot do,
So start out today with Faith in your heart
And “Climb ’Til Your Dream Comes True!”
- Helen Steiner Rice
(1900 - 1981)