Clemson trip (part 1)

Friday, May 13th

The main reason I went to Clemson was to watch my long time friend, Brian, receive his Masters degree. I am particularly proud of him because there was a time at Tech when I was not sure that he would get his Bachelors degree. It had nothing to do with intelligence or drive; he just did not know what he wanted to do and was frustrated with school. Fortunately he found his calling and has done great ever since. Congrats man.

So we started the day by attending his ceremony. Somehow Clemson divides all the graduates (Bachelors, Masters and Doctorates) in half (apparently not by last name and I don't think by college) and have a morning ceremony and an afternoon ceremony. Fortunately Brian’s was in the morning. The other thing to know about Brian is that he has never been one to color within the lines. This day three rules would be broken. I should also mention that I have never attended a graduation ceremony that was tamer or more boring than this one.

The first rule was that they were not supposed to decorate their caps. So of course Brian did. There were a couple others (about five out of 500+) who did this but I have to give Brian special recognition for bravery. He did not have the usual fraternity letters or friends names or other normal messages like that. Nope, at his request we brought him stickers so that he could put the VT logo on top. And more prominently a sticker about VT being the ACC football champion. A couple people asked if VT was where he was going next but he simply told him that he was a Hokie and always would be.

For the second rule we were asked at the beginning of the ceremony to be restrained when our loved one’s name was called. Specifically we were asked to only clap and not use any noisemakers, so much for that rule. At Brian’s request when his name was called his wife and one of my other friends shook the turkey gobbler noisemakers we brought as loudly as they could. So it sounded like two turkeys where making noise in the back of the auditorium, which I guess is kind of true. That action earned Brian an unhappy look from the president as they shook hands and laughs from the other people around us. Two names later someone blew a small air horn so I think we started a trend.

For the third rule the graduates were asked not to walk out after receiving their degree. Yup, you guessed it. Brian walked across the front and then right down the center aisle to the exit. Now this was not all bravado and breaking the rules, apparently his bladder was also about to explode. Therefore it was either walk out to the bathroom or have a nasty accident. You choose which would have been better. Either way we were just thankful to be gone.

While the ceremony went on for another two hours we wandered the campus and got freshly made ice cream from the student center. We returned just as the ceremony ended so Brian and his wife could congratulate some of their friends. We also learned he was not the last to walk out. So I guess he started a trend there too.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out and generally relaxing. Having friends is a good thing.