1) There is at least one person in the conversation who has heard me relate this story.
2) There is at least one person in the conversation who hasn't
If I think of it (or even if I don't) I will probably do the same thing on this blog. Probably I'll get to it when I rant about the trite nature of graduation speeches and how Rice has a habit of getting speakers who phone it in.
Sigh... Even this rant is a bit worn out. Everyone complains that graduation speeches are trite but no one ever gives the complaint any thought.
Why do we complain about the trite graduation speech?
If its because you didn't want to hear a speech, then you're dumb. Skip your graduation and have the school mail you the diploma.
The reason you should complain is this: a bad speaker is a covenant broken. Graduation is the last chance for your school to impart wisdom to you as a student. Great lengths are taken to find a special person to deliver this message. The message should be engaging, inspirational, sincere, and provide a sense of closure.
I believe that this is an impossible task for a commencement speaker unless that speaker is somehow invested in the graduating students; there needs to be some connection. Towards this end, getting a random celebrity is a set-up for failure. The plain truth is that a celebrity speaker could not care less about the graduating class, their endeavors, or their future. As such, their speech is almost always filler stuff like:
In the future, the world will be different. For example, we will be older. The world is getting more dangerous, look both ways before crossing the street. When I was a young flowerpot, I ate a long string of watermelon seeds. Today you see the fruits of my loom. If you remember nothing from today then you are drunk right now.
Regardless of how one might feel about Bush senior, he was genuine in expressing how proud he was of his beloved grandson and his grandson's friend.
What I am trying to say is that when I exaggerate Packy's role in George Bush's commencement address, its because I really wish that the whole speach had been about Packy.
