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Mrs. Melinda Russell played “Pomp and Circumstance” on the school’s organ. It was hot. Somewhere in the bleachers a baby was crying.
Pamela Peyton, one of the graduates, gave the invocation. Hers was a simple prayer for parents, teachers and fellow students. Among the other amenities of civilization missing from Rappahannock County is a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. No one had brought suit to prevent Pam from praying in public. This is country living.
The class salutatorian spoke, the choir sang and the band played, and valedictorian Diana Hudson did a commendable job. A faculty member delivered a commencement address. Then we applauded the winners of scholarships and prizes from the Lions Club, the Farm Bureau, the Rappahannock Women’s Club, the Extension Homemakers, the Garden Club and the Amissville Ruritans. After some further remarks, the seniors filed by to get their diplomas, and it was all over by noon.
I suppose it has been this way everywhere over the past couple of weeks. Perspiration, “Pomp and Circumstance,” forgettable speeches, a good deal of hugging and posing for pictures. Graduation Day is a big day when you’re 18 — bigger, I expect, more important, more universal than graduation from college.
Watching these young people, I felt waves of uncharacteristic gloom. What legacy have we left to Douglas and the others? They will live halfway through the 21st century. It will be their task to clean up the awful mess that my own generation has made of this planet. We
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