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So Friday night was Graduation Night for Key West High, including my 18-year old niece, Princess.
So we showed up at the football field, many of us, including myself, dressed up and looking spiffy for Princess's big day. The football field made sense, as they had almost 300 graduates. By contrast, when I graduated from high school in Arizona (my 3rd high school), we had a class of about 550! Now, graduation was slated to start around 8:30, just after sunset, which made loads of sense. Far more sense, as I pointed out to my cohorts, then when I graduated. Outside. In Arizona. In June. AT 6 PM! (Yes, it was a scorcher!)
It was a gorgeous night, and my boss, Rockin' Manager, showed up at my complex, parked her car, and we walked the 3 blocks to the football field, figuring we would avoid traffic that way. (Princess used to work at The Bar with us, and RM loves her...and there was another employee of The Bar also graduating.) Now, Princess had advised me that it is "tradition" that it rains on Graduation Night, and that I should bring my umbrella. Dorky me, I forgot it, but again, it was a gorgeous night. No big deal, right?
So there we are, in the bleachers, hanging out. And RM noticed some ominous looking clouds rolling in. And that is when I realized that I did not, in fact, remember the aforementioned umbrella. No big deal...we might get a little damp, or it might just roll right by us. This is the tropics....anything is possible.
But the clouds kept coming, and right around the point where they finished the speeches and started calling the grads to come get their diplomas, the first few drops fell. A few people had umbrellas. A few people, like us, laughed it off. A lot of people started to scamper to shelter, like under the bleachers. Pansies. We were there to see Princess graduate, damn it! And since they had marched in by height order (shortest to tallest), it stood to reason that Princess would be one of the earlier ones called.
Yes, reason. We'll talk about that momentarily.
So, the organizers covered the cameras and audio equipment with trash bags as a precaution, and continued on. A few times a name cut out, so you might only hear one name ("Neil!") and not have any idea if that was a first or last name, but that only happened during the first few grads.
The rain increased somewhat, so we were getting a bit wet, but it was fine. RM put the cards she had for the two grads in her purse to keep them dry. I moved my cell phone from my belt to my pocket for the same reason. A little water never hurt anyone, after all.
A LOT of water, however, can cause much havoc, as we soon found out. Because the skies opened, and it rained cats, dogs, horses, pigs, sheep, narwhal whales, and woolly mammoths! I mean it fucking RAINED! The word "torrential" was tossed about, but not without good reason! But RM and I were undaunted....we were going to see Princess and the other girl get their diplomas, damn it!
Naturally, they were both among the last dozen girls called, before the last line of guys. At this point RM and I were both soaked to the skin, in our nice clothes.....and while the graduation continued, we ourselves sought shelter under the bleachers. Not that it mattered that much, to be honest....and under the bleachers it was still rather drippy, to say the least.
Now the people I felt bad for were not the people who didn't bring an umbrella, knowing that this is the tropics. They were idiots, myself included. After all, this is not an uncommon thing here. The people I felt bad for were the graduates, as the ceremony kept going, with the rain pouring down on them in buckets. In TUBS even. And they just kept going. The guy announcing their names increased his intensity as the rain increased, and it was actually rather comical. Especially when he couldn't pronounce some of the names. You could actually sometimes here the relief in his voice when he'd get to some easy name like "Bill...SMITH!"
So the procession finally ended, the caps got tossed in the air (and some of them got blown far downfield by the storm's wind!), and then everyone ran for cover of their cars or the bleachers. I should point out once again that RM and I walked from my place. Without an umbrella. Yeah, we were feeling rather stupid at that point.
Now, let's talk about "reason." When I graduated high school in Arizona, we had no backup plans for rain, as Phoenix in June is pretty damn dry, and if there had been rain coming, we would have known about it, probably DAYS in advance. It is, after all, the desert.
But Key West is the fucking tropics. Rain is not only possible, but a very real possibility. Add to that the fact that it has been "tradition" for years for grad night to get rained on, and you have to wonder a few things:
--Why were there no tents, canopies, or tarps, at least over the grads and speakers?
--Why were there no backup plans?
--Why did they insist on doing it on the football field, rather than in the brand spanking new and rather immense auditorium at the high school?
--Why did all of us Keys residents forget our umbrellas?
--Seriously, where were the canopies? What the hell were they thinking?
I guess it could be argued that the planners were a little distracted, what with the Schools Superintendent having been indicted on criminal charges, arrested, and subsequently suspended from his job by the Governor, all within the 48 hours preceding Grad Night. It could also be argued that they didn't have money in the budget for such things, due to the several hundred thousand dollars the Superintendent's wife is alleged to have stolen over the last few years. (No, I am not kidding.) But that doesn't preclude them from having the ceremony in the auditorium, does it?
When the rain finally let up, RM and I dragged our wet and sorry asses back to my apartment complex, where she climbed in her car and went home, and I went home, changed clothes, and went out to meet up with Princess's family (though Princess went off to Operation Graduation, one of those all-night no-alcohol things schools often sponsor). That was easily one of the wettest nights I have ever spent, and the wettest my dress clothes have ever been outside of the laundry!
Ah, truly the most amusing graduation I have ever been to!
So we showed up at the football field, many of us, including myself, dressed up and looking spiffy for Princess's big day. The football field made sense, as they had almost 300 graduates. By contrast, when I graduated from high school in Arizona (my 3rd high school), we had a class of about 550! Now, graduation was slated to start around 8:30, just after sunset, which made loads of sense. Far more sense, as I pointed out to my cohorts, then when I graduated. Outside. In Arizona. In June. AT 6 PM! (Yes, it was a scorcher!)
It was a gorgeous night, and my boss, Rockin' Manager, showed up at my complex, parked her car, and we walked the 3 blocks to the football field, figuring we would avoid traffic that way. (Princess used to work at The Bar with us, and RM loves her...and there was another employee of The Bar also graduating.) Now, Princess had advised me that it is "tradition" that it rains on Graduation Night, and that I should bring my umbrella. Dorky me, I forgot it, but again, it was a gorgeous night. No big deal, right?
So there we are, in the bleachers, hanging out. And RM noticed some ominous looking clouds rolling in. And that is when I realized that I did not, in fact, remember the aforementioned umbrella. No big deal...we might get a little damp, or it might just roll right by us. This is the tropics....anything is possible.
But the clouds kept coming, and right around the point where they finished the speeches and started calling the grads to come get their diplomas, the first few drops fell. A few people had umbrellas. A few people, like us, laughed it off. A lot of people started to scamper to shelter, like under the bleachers. Pansies. We were there to see Princess graduate, damn it! And since they had marched in by height order (shortest to tallest), it stood to reason that Princess would be one of the earlier ones called.
Yes, reason. We'll talk about that momentarily.
So, the organizers covered the cameras and audio equipment with trash bags as a precaution, and continued on. A few times a name cut out, so you might only hear one name ("Neil!") and not have any idea if that was a first or last name, but that only happened during the first few grads.
The rain increased somewhat, so we were getting a bit wet, but it was fine. RM put the cards she had for the two grads in her purse to keep them dry. I moved my cell phone from my belt to my pocket for the same reason. A little water never hurt anyone, after all.
A LOT of water, however, can cause much havoc, as we soon found out. Because the skies opened, and it rained cats, dogs, horses, pigs, sheep, narwhal whales, and woolly mammoths! I mean it fucking RAINED! The word "torrential" was tossed about, but not without good reason! But RM and I were undaunted....we were going to see Princess and the other girl get their diplomas, damn it!
Naturally, they were both among the last dozen girls called, before the last line of guys. At this point RM and I were both soaked to the skin, in our nice clothes.....and while the graduation continued, we ourselves sought shelter under the bleachers. Not that it mattered that much, to be honest....and under the bleachers it was still rather drippy, to say the least.
Now the people I felt bad for were not the people who didn't bring an umbrella, knowing that this is the tropics. They were idiots, myself included. After all, this is not an uncommon thing here. The people I felt bad for were the graduates, as the ceremony kept going, with the rain pouring down on them in buckets. In TUBS even. And they just kept going. The guy announcing their names increased his intensity as the rain increased, and it was actually rather comical. Especially when he couldn't pronounce some of the names. You could actually sometimes here the relief in his voice when he'd get to some easy name like "Bill...SMITH!"
So the procession finally ended, the caps got tossed in the air (and some of them got blown far downfield by the storm's wind!), and then everyone ran for cover of their cars or the bleachers. I should point out once again that RM and I walked from my place. Without an umbrella. Yeah, we were feeling rather stupid at that point.
Now, let's talk about "reason." When I graduated high school in Arizona, we had no backup plans for rain, as Phoenix in June is pretty damn dry, and if there had been rain coming, we would have known about it, probably DAYS in advance. It is, after all, the desert.
But Key West is the fucking tropics. Rain is not only possible, but a very real possibility. Add to that the fact that it has been "tradition" for years for grad night to get rained on, and you have to wonder a few things:
--Why were there no tents, canopies, or tarps, at least over the grads and speakers?
--Why were there no backup plans?
--Why did they insist on doing it on the football field, rather than in the brand spanking new and rather immense auditorium at the high school?
--Why did all of us Keys residents forget our umbrellas?
--Seriously, where were the canopies? What the hell were they thinking?
I guess it could be argued that the planners were a little distracted, what with the Schools Superintendent having been indicted on criminal charges, arrested, and subsequently suspended from his job by the Governor, all within the 48 hours preceding Grad Night. It could also be argued that they didn't have money in the budget for such things, due to the several hundred thousand dollars the Superintendent's wife is alleged to have stolen over the last few years. (No, I am not kidding.) But that doesn't preclude them from having the ceremony in the auditorium, does it?
When the rain finally let up, RM and I dragged our wet and sorry asses back to my apartment complex, where she climbed in her car and went home, and I went home, changed clothes, and went out to meet up with Princess's family (though Princess went off to Operation Graduation, one of those all-night no-alcohol things schools often sponsor). That was easily one of the wettest nights I have ever spent, and the wettest my dress clothes have ever been outside of the laundry!
Ah, truly the most amusing graduation I have ever been to!
)
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