May 23, 2026

Around 600 graduates of whom I knew 7 and I did not get one in focus photo. This one of Nash is the clearest.  I didn't even get a partial one of EJ.  

That was too hard of a day and a bizarre experience from the beginning.  There were a few moments to cherish and  when you realize the hard work, the dedication, the resilience, the stamina that it took for all of those people to reach that goal of acquiring a degree, it is overwhelming.  And when you add the crowd, the cold the rain and the inability to hear, well, overwhelming is putting it mildly.

Diane and I are pretty efficient getting places together even when we are both in pain.   I was not dressed warm enough.  By the time we got under the BBQ tent at 6:45 I was freezing and damp 

The whole event was so long and just kept going.  Like in the middle of handing out degrees they would stop and recognize something on the side for 3 minutes.  In some cases those were clearly the important three minutes of the event, but you'd never know because it was encased in miles and miles of pomp.   The speaker was ok, but he wasn't the only speaker.  

I had fun befriending golf cart student drivers and we got driven door to door.  At 8 one helped us find the car.  I was pretty incapacitated by then so it was a good thing.  She was a theater major.  It was our good luck.   Anyway,, took 3 hours to make it home.  I didn't drive very fast, it was pouring and there was fog and glare and, well only for EJ.  I"m telling you, he is the only person I would do that for so I never have to do it again. And as I said, that takes nothing away from the grandness of what the event stood for.  Congratulations all 2026 graduates.  IMPRESSIVE.