We are having a perfectly lovely, long, lazy Memorial Day weekend. The kids and I have been hiking and catching movies. We’ve been barbequing and swimming. The Professor walked in ceremonies with his graduating students on Saturday and Sunday. It is so hot and humid, even he was tempted to wear shorts under his black, heavy gown. But both days he donned his dress pants.
“I think that’s the right thing to do, although no one would blame you for going naked underneath in this heat.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’d feel terrible if one of the old professors looked down and saw my bare ankles.” There are some scholars here who have been teaching for decades and take the ceremonies very seriously. Their regalia is so grand they rival even Dumbledore’s velvet robes.
As I drove to campus to drop him off for his second day of honor and torture, I saw some grads in sandals, no pants. They looked silly. They looked like boys who would rather be tapping a keg than participating in commencement. I also saw plenty of young men in proper ankle-covering clothing and dress shoes. They looked proud, like they had just accomplished something huge.
I know I am a sucker for pomp and circumstance. It made me think about how when we watch the ceremonies honoring the military today, I won’t see our enlisted men and women wearing shorts or flip flops! I don’t care how hot it is in Washington DC. If you stop to think about the people that have dedicated their lives to the finest institutions in the world—our universities and our military--and the parents and kids that have sacrificed time, money, and even their lives, I think the least you can do is put some pants on.
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