Tiffany graduated in the rain...but I awoke to photos she had emailed showing her amid the storms and Harvard heraldry carrying a funky green umbrella and wearing a bright red flower.
I saw joy.
Today my company also honored one of my co-workers, a man I've worked with almost every day since I started at the radio station nearly 21 years ago. At that time, he had already been there nearly 30 years.
We were marking Bob Guthrie's 50th anniversary at WOAI...an amazing accomplishment in any industry, and nearly unheard of in broadcasting.
When you factor in that his career started out with promotional materials such as this:
Well, it's even more astounding.
For the record, Bob is extremely distinguished. He has aged well, admittedly removing the giant Buddy Holly glasses tends to improve anyone's appearance.
These days, there's no way a TV or radio station would use a promotional photo of an employee like that old one of Bob...we are far more focused on glamour even in radio.
So, that was then...and this is now. Today we have Ken and Barbie reading us the news on T.V. - the picture we want to see...the ratings prove it.
I was struck today how beauty and grace...presence and poise...are things we almost expect to be staged.
It succeeds with ceremony and polish...with glamour and glitz...with our blessings.
Yet as the day wore on I couldn't help but think that true dignity must be earned... and sometimes, maybe only once in a while, you can only apprecriate the shining glimmer of joy when there are a few clouds nearby.
