Still Waters: Come sail away

I don’t remember anything the graduation speaker said to us on that high school graduation day 40 years ago at Moffat County High School (Craig.) About all I remember is the song our class chose for the occasion, “Come Sail Away,” sung by Styx.

“I’ve got to be free, free to face the life that’s ahead of me … We’ll search for tomorrow on every shore … come sail away with me.”

I can still hear the music in my head.

Some of us did “sail away” and never went back. Others remain there still. We’ve even lost a few on the voyage.

Craig was going through an energy boom at the time, and our class included students who were there for a short time, some joining the class only in the last year or two. I had only been part of the Class of ’78 for three and a half years. But when we all got to be seniors, things leveled out somehow, and we were all important … “sailing away” on the crest of the waves. The energy boom was causing our school to burst at the seams, and I believe there were more than 120 students in our class. A new school was in the works to accommodate the burgeoning student population.

I don’t remember much about my graduation speaker’s profound words, or at least I’m sure they were at the time, but I remember one graduation speaker (and it might have even been from another commencement) who talked about responding to the call of future opportunities. He had a regular phone, like we all used to use and homes don’t feature much anymore, and at the end of his speech, he made the phone ring. He picked up the receiver and held it up to the graduates saying, “It’s for you.”

Most of the high schools here are holding their graduation ceremonies this week, although a few have already walked the aisle. Three young people I have known pretty much all their lives are graduating this week from area high schools — Aspen from Alamosa High School, Colby from Centauri and Logan from Sangre de Cristo. Aspen’s mom works with me, and I recall when she was younger she would come by for a treat from my candy dish. Colby and his family attend my church. Logan is family, no longer by marriage but still by heart.

These three young people are good I would say “kids,” but they are no longer kids. They are young adults who will make the world a better place by their contributions. They already have blessed the world and their families, and I know they will continue to do so. Each one of them is a decent human being worth knowing.

I am proud of them and proud to know them. I was proud of our Tyler who graduated earlier this month from Adams State. He has already accomplished so much, and he is already busy making contributions to the world through his career as well as his service as a volunteer firefighter. I can recall before he was even born and have known him as part of our Courier family over the years.

We may all be “sailing away” on uncharted seas, but with young people like these at the helm, we will make the voyage safely together into the future.

Aspen, Colby, Logan, Tyler and all others who are entering a new era in your lives, the future is calling.

It’s for you.