Pomp & Circumstance: The Dark Side

Having attended a few commencements in my lifetime, I've learned they are each memorable in different, sometimes quirky ways.

One year William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlitt-Packard and commencement speaker, was practically booed off the stage thanks to a steady downpour that drenched the open-air audience while the poobahs sat comfortable and dry under a canopied platform.

Another year Ted Koppel was almost smacked upside the head by an errant giant beach ball bouncing atop the new graduates.

In a pre-ceremony glitch yesterday, the escalator where the graduates were lining up malfunctioned and blew out the lights. The graduates had to queue up on every other step to prevent an escalator overload. I am trying not to think of this as a metaphor for these grads' career futures since the escalator was going down.

This latest commencement also lived up to previous ones due to the presence of Darth Vader three rows in front of us.

Darth Vader, center; unidentified cameraman on right -- notice the small black-and-white monitor under his left heel, which gave me a partial view of the proceedings. Also, that might be Obi Wan Kenobi in the center foreground, but I'm not sure since he wasn't wearing his hood. Do you see the chancellor speaking at the podium and the big screen projection of him? Me neither.                                                                                                                                                                               

Look, I dunno if Darth Vader had a relative who was graduating or what. Personally I think he'd make a great commencement speaker. Or they could have awarded him an honorary degree. At least if he'd been up on that stage I would have been able to see better.

About 10 minutes into the keynote address I began hoping that Mr. Vader would activate his signature remote death-grip choke-hold on the speaker, who seemed more intent on promoting his book about wire-tapping Whitey Bulger than actually relating to the graduates. That certainly would have spiced things up, right?

Later on I started fantasizing about Mr. Vader unsheathing his light saber and icing the audience members standing in front of me who were obstructing my view even more. Alas I was too intimidated to approach the evil Jedi Knight and ask for a favor. Look, he's really big.

Otherwise, the choir sounded great, the president kept things moving, nobody got tasered or had a medical emergency, and none of the grads flashed the crowd. (What I heard.)

Look, I'm not complaining, we have video. It was truly a proud moment when I finally caught a glimpse of our graduate's collar and heard his name mispronounced by the dean as he received his diploma.  

Look, the important thing is we've got some newly-minted college graduates eager to work.

Upon reflection, maybe I should have asked Darth if he was hiring ....... Nah ... he's really really big ....





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The Lamp Lady's Mother's Day

I've had fun with previous Mother's Day posts, but this year I would like to blog about some special mothers who have illuminated my life. Literally. Moreover,  even though three of them are no longer alive, they continue to do so,  thanks to some unique, beautiful lamps I was lucky to inherit.

The Torchiere: Even though this is technically not a piano lamp, we always called it that because its companion was Grandma's Shroeder & Sons baby grand. Its thin fluted pole in no way resembles Grandma physically, but the scooped bowl reminds me of her large, warm heart and generosity.

Grandma was such a skilled cook she had me begging for second helpings of fried green tomatoes when I was five. She raised five children, sending two off to war, and was grandmother to 19. To her, family was most important, and I gained an appreciation of that and the power of patience and a positive attitude, plus I think she passed along her love of mischief to me.

Grandma's torchiere

The Victorian: I call this the boudoir lamp and use it in the bedroom. It comes from my paternal grandmother, my Nana, who passed along her many Victorian treasures to her grandchildren.

Nana was also a fine cook, but I devoured the fine points of grammar she fed me along with the home-made cherry pie. She was a teacher; gentle, persuasive, articulate. She always made each of us feel like her favorite whenever we spent time with her.
 
Growing up in a large, loud household, I always associated Nana's house (and its Victorian decor) with peace and quiet. What my grandparents exemplified. So no matter how chaotic things get here, there's always a cubic square foot on a dresser that gives off light, warmth, and serenity.

Nana's boudoir Victorian

The Hurricane: As bright, colorful, and curvaceous as my dear late mother-in-law, who also had an eye for Victorian. It held a place of honor in her front bay window and glowed with comfort at night. I think she would approve of its new home atop the piano. And how she could bake! I always try to channel her when I'm in the kitchen with a cheesecake or Slovak recipe.

My Mother-in-law's hurricane lamp

The Vine: A kid, her mom and a lamp. The newcomer, but a favorite which appealed to me while I was growing up. Someone gave it to my Mom and Dad when they were married, meaning it's 63 years old. I can't imagine anything made of ceramic surviving that long in my house.

Mom is a caring person and devoted her life to caring for others. Managing our large household was hard, relentless work, but she succeeded while keeping her hopes and standards high. When I think of the thousands of things she has taught me over a lifetime I am almost speechless with admiration (but not quite).

Like the lamp, my mom is resilient, with a bottomless depth of strength as she continues to brighten up our lives today.

I recently spotted this lamp packed away at my Mom's, and she offered it to me, happy to free up some closet space.

Did I mention what a good cook she is?

Thanks again, Mom!

Mom's vine lamp

  




So you can see how fortunate I am. Every day I walk through a house filled with reminders of two generations of strong, loving, talented, skilled women who outlasted wars, the Depression, recessions, disease, childbirth, epidemics and anything else life threw at them -- but also love and legacy. Each of them found a way through hardship to fulfillment. They were survivors. They were the women in my family.

Tonight I will walk leisurely through my house and turn on each of these lights in their honor. Then we will all shine together again.



Happy Mother's Day!
















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