Of Eleventh Grade again

Not very often one gets to go back to high school in a good way.  I for one, hated high school.  I dropped out of at least three.  Was invited to not return to Clearwater Central Catholic School.  Probably best that we parted ways.

Fast forward 44 years.  I am at a business meeting in Phoenix.  I am meeting a woman that I have seen once in 30 years.  She was my disco buddy in the seventies.  She knew how to dance.  I knew how to hang around her.  She was all grace and style, I was all hang around her.  But, I had a car.  So a new friendship was born of admiration and motorization.  Two catholic gals on the town.

I can tell you what beautiful looks like to me, and it may not be what it looks like to you.  My friend Karisa had the coal black hair with curls of Sophia Loren and a shape like her as well.  She had her Spanish mother's eyes and her Italian father's verve.  She was talented in acting and in movement.  I was good at geometry and reading.

Our young relationship was shrouded in family controversies.  We retreated as all young teen do, into our teen world of music and sharing.  Then, she married and moved away.  I went to school, and school and school.

I remember her writing about a house and marriage.  I had no clue.  I was pursuing a Master Degree and working at the All Important Legislature of Florida.  We disconnected.

Then, I had a conference in Phoenix.  I called her and she made time for me.  She was as delightful and warming and fun as I had remembered.

This is not a poignant blog.  This is a reminder to say that old connections can be refreshed.  Old friendships still live.  What a wonderful evening we had today.  We shared food and stories and walked the cactus walk.  She told me of birds and cactus and the feeders and the moon.

We aren't in high school any more, but for a few hours, we were that young and that beautiful.  We definitely will meet again.

of the graduating daughter

In looking at my beautiful baby girl who could never wear clothes on the beach,
never met an animal (including reptiles)

she didn't love and thought dirt was a badge and paper never had enough space for her essays:  I say congrats Morgan.

 Job well done.

You turned the lousy high school experience into the lovely collegiate pursuit and graduated with honors.

I love you more and miss you a great deal.
 Every day.

 and I searched for songs to toast you and there is a list - of course there is a list...

 http://voices.yahoo.com/top-30-songs-dedicate-daughter-7942458.html?cat=25

But there was one, that did not show on the list and it is not the standard send off, but the warning type song.

The group is called Daughter, and the song Youth

And I love the part about being the lucky one.  Being in this world, across all nations as you want to be, you are lucky.  You have had a loving  family and enough money and a public education.  You have a wonderful heart and common sense and sense... of what is around you and whom. And Whom.

I know that you are struggling with what is next, but not me.  I trust you. I trust all that you are.  You are amazing and smart and beautiful and strong. You are passionate and love your animals and your garden and mass transit.  You supported Obama but not blindly and you care about the implementation and you object to the blind obedience.

You and the others of your generation are the best of the best. You have more education and the luxury of thinking about it.  You have the time to grow up and the time to ponder and the time to not judge and the time to rethink.

You have been more places by 17 than I at 55. You have a broader perspective and more tolerance and less judgement than anyone in my generation. You can make jokes with friends that don't insult and know with friends when jokes are not funny.

 You know the importance of the online communication and that abrupt words in email can hurt and that Facebook is forever, but not for everyone.  Twitter is only 140 bad characters and YouTube videos are now more than 15 minutes.

And yet.

You still want a graduate degree and to compete on horses at the Olympic level and to speak foreign languages  You still hold yourself to expectations that I never dreamed of.  You are truly amazing.

So here is to you my young daughter.  If you go to Cornell, or Portland State or Aachen, they are the ones blessed to have you.  They are the ones who should look to you and say why in this world of on line education should we be fortunate enough to have you at our brick and mortor?  They should look at you and say here is our future now and later.

If they are smart, they will look at you and see that they will never see all that you and your generation will be, but make it possible for you to be the next, the best, the bold, the edgy, the strong the weak, the timid, the future. Our future.

So the average elephant baby matures at age 70 and that means that now that humans live to 100, youth should last to 25 and adulthood should be 30.

And these are arbitrary numbers as are all things projected.  So enjoy your youth.  You can at least surpass the elephants.