Copyright © 2020 John F. Oyler
June 4, 2020
Ian’s Commencement Address
My grandson, Ian Aleistair McCance, is about to graduate from Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, in a ceremony severely limited in attendees. His mother has elected to supplement this with a teleconference including all of his extended family. I was asked to provide the Commencement Address for this family celebration. What follows is an approximate version of that address.
Good afternoon, Ian, and to your extended family as well. I am honored to have been asked to give this Commencement Address. This is an appropriate assignment for me, as I am the oldest, and consequently the wisest member of this family.
Wisdom is the synergistic result of experience, analyzed with judgment, and stored in one’s memory. My long lifetime has produced many experiences. The good judgment with which I have been blessed has provided me with a treasure trove of relevant, significant memories. And, so far, my memory has not deserted me.
Wisdom is of no value unless it is passed on to others. Events like Commencement exercises provide an excellent vehicle for such passage. I am pleased to have this opportunity to pass on a few bits of wisdom to you.
Don’t be afraid to enjoy life. Our lives are filled with wonderful experiences. Nature gives us sunsets; and waterfalls; and clear, calm winter mornings when a snowfall has transformed the woods into a miraculous fairyland. The arts provide many more – a trumpet playing “Ain’t Misbehaving” at my retirement banquet, a first opportunity to read “Lord of the Rings”, and Lazar Wolf negotiating with Tevye for the hand of Tzeitel. If only your Grandmother Oyler could have seen Lazar Wolf and Colonel Mustard and gimpy old Sir Francis Chesney!
Which brings us to your family and your friends. Enjoy the time you have with them; work hard to prevent your other responsibilities and obligations from interfering with it. Don’t postpone opportunities to enjoy quality time with them till “Some Other Time”.
Secondly, don’t be afraid to take a chance. Exploit your potential. We are all capable of much greater things than we realize. Frequently we will fail, but that makes our achievements all the more enjoyable. Follow Robert Frost’s example:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by
And that has made all the difference.
Consider “The Road Less Travelled” when you encounter a fork in this unpredictable road you are travelling.
And, finally, exercise your mind. Some people think it is our most under-utilized organ. In today’s environment our easy access to information often permits us to look up solutions to problems rather than thinking them through ourselves. This may well inhibit creative thinking and ultimately retard progress.
Most of the advances our society has made have been orchestrated by a small number of independent thinkers, open minded individuals eager to explore all alternatives. You have a mind with remarkable potential – nurture it!
Just as I am the eldest member of my generation, you are the eldest of yours. You are the flag bearer, the role model, for Rachael, and Nora, and Claire, and Ciona, and Lai An. Each of them is looking to you for guidance on how they navigate their own personal journeys.
An interesting theory in social science suggests a symbiotic relationship between the successive generations and the evolution of history. It postulates that society evolves through a repetitive cycle of phases -- crisis, rebuilding, questioning, and unraveling -- lasting eighty or ninety years. The experiences of each generation during its formative years molds its character and the character of each generation in its adult years molds the society it dominates.
In my lifetime this theory is exemplified by the crisis of the Great Depression and World War II, the burden of which was carried by the “Greatest Generation”. My generation came next. Known as the “Silent Generation”, we were so grateful for having survived hard times that it was easy for us to focus on rebuilding.
We were followed by the Boomers, a spoiled generation that was so bored with life that they preferred to question our values. Then came Generation X, the disrupters, and tribal conflicts throughout the world.
And now we are starting all over again, in the midst of an international crisis. Your generation will have the challenge of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again, when this crisis ends. You will be the builders, re-connectors, and assemblers who reconstruct the world order in a positive fashion that will produce a new Golden Era. We have confidence in you!
It is always difficult to end a talk properly. To aid me in this challenge I elected to convene an imaginary virtual teleconference of the patriarchs of the eight families from which you descend – your eight great-great-grandfathers. They represent four similar, but independently different ethnicities.
Your Irish blood is represented by the McGoverns and the Cassidys; your Scotch heritage by the McCances. Your English forbears are the Powells and the Spring family. And finally, this intermingling of strains from the British Isles combines with three Pennsylvania Dutch families, the Oylers, the Kleeses, and the Flecks, each transplanted from Germany four generations earlier.
My posing the question of a proper conclusion to your Commencement Address initiated a heated debate, as might be expected from such a collection of diverse backgrounds. Eventually, however, they elected to focus on the fact that you are beginning a long journey through life, and that the traditional Celtic Blessing would be appropriate.
Great-great-Grandpa Cassidy was selected to deliver it:
Sure, and may the road rise up to meet ye,
May the wind be ever at thy back,
May the sun shine brightly on thy forehead,
And the gentle rain refresh thy fields.
Until we meet again, lad,
May the good Lord shelter thee in the palm of His hand.
This was followed by a chorus of Amens, confirming unanimous agreement.
To which I add, “Amen”.
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