Buffett-themed graduation newspaper column

[luvinlife]

Very cool I would be proud to call him or her my own.

[pir82l8]

Here's the full piece referenced in this thread, before it heads to the 'pay' section of the newspaper's website. Hope more people pass it along to graduates the know (even those with diplomas from Domino College):

Life's a Beach, Kids
Come Sunday, it'll be all right: Words of wisdom for the RMHS Class of 2009

By PAUL FEELY
Published:
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 1:07 PM EDT
Graduation Day 2009. After 13 years of essays, pop quizzes, finals, chem labs and phys ed, you get that piece of paper you’ve worked so hard for, and head off into the real world.

Twenty years ago I too walked across that same stage at Hawkes Field House, nervous about what might lie ahead, but just as excited about the possibilities.

The years and miles, tears and smiles since then have taught me a few lessons about life, and if the graduating class of 2009 wouldn’t mind having some words of wisdom passed along, I’ll get up on my soap box for a few column inches.

You never know where some of the best advice will come from, but I have always been influenced by song lyrics. I take a lot of pride in a large CD collection that contains songs that I associate with almost every major event in my life, but the most poignant lyrics come from a man near and dear to my heart, best known for his tribute to a mythical island paradise.

Jimmy Buffett may be best known for the commercial hit “Margaritaville”, which he has since merchandised and marketed in enough ways to build a not-so-small fortune. But if you look at his lesser known tunes, dive down a little deeper into the song catalog, the tropical troubadour has more than a few words of wisdom that have helped me along in life, and may just mean something to you as well.

There’s more here than just the salty residue ‘round the edge of the glass. Here’s a few things I’ve taken to heart over the years (song lyrics, followed by life lessons)

“I’m growing older but not up”, and “Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been” - Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself or be laughed at, and getting older doesn’t have to be something to avoid at all costs.

“Spend it while you can

Money’s contraband

You can’t take it with you when you go

Spend it while you can

Before it’s taken from your hand

There’s no free ride in this carnival world” - Money isn’t everything, and if you spend too much time worrying about it, you’ll run out of time to use it on this earth.

“Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder,

So I can't look back for too long.

There's just too much to see waiting in front of me,

and I know that I just can't go wrong” - Don’t waste too much time on regret, the past is just that.

“These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes;

Nothing remains quite the same.

Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane” - Don’t ever lose your sense of humor, no matter where your path in life takes you - every situation in life gets better when you insert a smile into it.

”I know I can’t run and hide

But just hang on for the ride

There will be laughter and tears

As we progress through the years

But still it’s fun hey I’m not done

Gonna dance till I fall” - Again, don’t spend all your days worrying about your age - the only time it will catch up with you is when you stop to think about it.

“I don’t want to live on that kind of island

No, I don’t want to swim in a roped off sea.

Too much for me, too much for me

I’ve got to be where the wind and the water are free” - Live outside the rules once in awhile - too much structure in one’s life is never a good thing. As you venture into the ocean of your lives, do’t be afraid to swim out past the bobbers once in awhile.

“Alone on a midnight passage

I can count the falling stars

While the Southern Cross and the satellites

They remind me of where we are

Spinning around in circles

Living it day to day

And still just twenty four hours, maybe sixty good years

It’s really not that long a stay” - Cherish every moment you have here, because you never know how long it’s going to last.

“Jimmy dreams, he’s a child to the end,

What a joy, when you are your best friend,

The world’s such a toy, if you’ll just stay a boy,

You can spin it again and again.” - Try to keep a little bit of the child in you as you go through life - don’t ever stop learning, or having fun doing it.

“There's that one particular harbor

Sheltered from the wind

Where the children play on the shore each day

And all are safe within

A most mysterious calling harbor

So far but yet so near

Where I see the day when my hair's full gray

And I finally disappear…” - Once you find someone, or something that makes you feel safe, happy and content, hold onto it as long as you can - people and places like that don’t come along too often, trust me.

“Some people love to lead

And some refuse to dance.

Some play it safely, other take a chance.

Still it’s all a mystery

This place we call the world

Where most live as oysters

While some become pearls.” - Don’t be afraid to be a pearl once in awhile - regretting that you didn’t try something when you had the chance eats away at you.

“All the stories we could tell

If it all blows up and goes to hell

I wish that we could sit upon the bed in some hotel

And listen to the stories we could tell” - When you are sitting on your rocker decades from now, it’ll make the time go by much quicker if you have volumes of tales to relive - so get out there and write some decent and exciting chapters for yourself.

There. That’s enough preaching. Enjoy graduation day, and all the days to come, no matter where they may take you.

To paraphrase a song lyric one more time, some of it will be magic, some of it tragic, but I hope you have a good life all the way.