As I mentioned, it was sunny and very comfortable. There was a slight breeze which made it very nice. We were glad Bates is a relatively small university, so there were only 438 graduates. Their commencement speaker was Geoffrey Canada, a person who had started the Harlem Children's Zone in New York City. He was a dynamic speaker who had a clear message for the graduating class. One aspect was very cool - he made mention of the fact that what one generation starts, another may have to finish. He quoted from MLK's Mountain Top Speech where he said he had been to the mountain top and seen the other side. I might not get there with you, but we will get there. When he quoted MLK, he had the same resonant quality to his voice and gave you chills.
Honorary degrees were bestowed on four individual - one of whom was Senator Susan Collins from Maine. Another was Patrick Dempsey, an actor from Grey's Anatomy - those who are familiar with the series might add that he's more than just an actor, he's a heart-throb! Listing his accomplishments as a race car driver, founder of a facility to support people living with cancer. As I texted Tom III during the ceremony, he really made you feel like you had missed so many opportunities. Feelings of inadequacy abounded.
After the commencement address, they went through the calling up of each one of the 438 graduating students and presenting them with their diplomas. As I mentioned above, it's a small university, so each student got presented a diploma and their individual cheering sections made noise - we like to think that we were the loudest; however, one group brought cowbells. Vi had that idea, but we never followed through on it. Too bad. The below picture is not of Danny receiving his diploma, but hey, at this distance it could be!
Proud families below. We checked to make sure that the diploma had the right name and wasn't blank!
After commencement, the college provided lunch on the Library Quad behind where the ceremony was. They served thousands in a very efficient manner. They had four long tables set up and you served from both sides. Good food and we all found a hillside to sit on. Needed some of the wine from yesterday to top it off, but we all had to drive home to Vermont afterward, so that wasn't a good idea.
We left Tom III and his clan to head back to Vermont. They were going to load up the car and RV with Danny's "stuff" (accumulated over four years) and then follow us. We had a great trip back through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont - wish we could go through three states out west as quickly as we did those three. Took the northern route so we wouldn't duplicate our trip over and passed through the White Mountains region. With it being the middle of the three-day weekend, there wasn't much traffic, although the trailheads and tourist attractions along the way were crowded.
Everyone arrived back home in Morrisville safely and the RV made it even though it was pretty heavily laden. Pizza for dinner and then an early night. For some reason, everyone was a little tired.
This morning Tom III and Danny gave us a demonstration of the capabilities of their drone, flying it from the house and out over the valley, around the area, back to take a picture of us on the deck. Afterward, Vi and I went down to the Civil War statue in Morrisville for their Memorial Day service. I must say I have been to bigger parades, but not one with more enthusiasm and patriotism. The parade consisted of two honor guards, a boy scout troop, one car, one SUV and one ambulance. Two bands had promised to show up; however, the impending rain (which held off until after the ceremony) kept them away.
The American Legion and VFW did an excellent job of speeches, songs, pledges, memorial presentations, and ended with a great rendition of Taps. Made up in fervor what they lacked in numbers. Good small town ceremony. Quite a change from the thousands at graduation the day before.
This afternoon we watched a slide show of Katie's trip abroad to Austria and all the other countries she visited in her semester abroad.
Tomorrow, we start our trip back to Reno with a couple of days in Rochester before heading home. Route still unknown, but we'll keep you posted.
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