Feelin' good

Sometimes one gets to feel really good about doing something simple. Sometimes I find that I can do things that cost me nothing but a little time or that I even enjoy and offer a benefit to another. It's the old win-win stuff. Last night I got to do it again. Same old thing for me -- I do it every year -- and every year it feels good.

Fairbanks is a small town, but we have several public school programs for young people who, for one reason or another, don't make it through high school. A lot of them complete the GED and graduate. They have a graduation exercise and, thanks to a group to which I belong, get the whole experience, complete with the graduation processional, complete with Pomp and Circumstance. Our Community Band performs a pre-graduation concert of about 30 minutes, then plays the processional and the national anthem.

Yes, one can graduate without the music, but to have a live group doing the honors seems to add a lot to the event. It adds a lot to me as well. This wasn't the most dignified of ceremonies; some of the graduates were scampering to catch up with the line, but it represented the end of what for some was a major struggle. I got to add my little bit to make it memorable. I like that.