I woke up the other day at my usual time of 7 a.m. After doing some stretches and putting on clothes, I began to knock on my daughter Ruth’s door to wake her up for school as I have done the last 13 years or so.
Then I stopped. Ruth was done with school. Everyone was done with school. After 20 years of waking children up for school, it was all over. Wow. It was a strange feeling.
I thought back and laughed at years gone by when I would blast Carl Perkins “Go Cat Go” over my loudspeakers.
Oh, sometimes it ain't easy boy to roll out bed, and shake the cobwebs a-hangin' from your head.
But you were born to be in the human race and if you don't start movin' you're gonna finish in last place.
You gotta go-go-go, go-cat-go-cat-go
Hey, that sun is up and you can not lay around. Get off your butt, you can't do it sittin' down. Don't say you can't, can't never did a thing. If you believe you can and you can do anything
You gotta go-go-go, go-cat-go-cat-go
It will always be something, no matter who you are. Poor man has his worries, just like the movie star. Throw down your trouble, you get light on your feet. Just listen to the music boy, and move with the beat
You gotta go-go-go, go-cat-go-cat-go
Watch your step and stay off your brother's toes. If your brother needs your help, help him carry his heavy load
And when this thing is over, someone greater than you and I will award each winner with eternal life.
You gotta go-go-go, go-cat-go-cat-go.
I was going to write a column of advice to high school graduates, but now I’m wondering if I can improve on the wisdom of Perkins’ Go Cat Go.
Every time I blasted Go Cat Go out of my stereo speakers, John, Lawrence and Ruth would begin a wailing and caterwauling like you could not imagine. They would jump out of bed and run out of the room, heading straight for the stereo speaker volume knob.
After a while, the very threat of blasting Go Cat Go was enough to do the job.
It warms the cockles of my heart to see the smiling, beautiful and handsome faces of all the young high school graduates. I am so happy to be part of a publication that publicizes and promotes the basic goodness occurring all around us.
I give credit to the Northside Sun editor Jimmye Sweat for stamping her unique vision on the Northside Sun. It is a vision where we as a community celebrate all the great accomplishments that occur year in and year out: births, weddings, graduations and other accomplishments. There is far more good to praise than bad to criticize. It is discouraging that the Northside Sun is so unique in its approach to see the good of a community over the bad.
I think back on my own graduation from Greenwood High School in Greenwood Mississippi. I was headed to Harvard, delighted to get out of the boondocks.
I can remember my father telling me, “Son, it’s not where you live but how you deal with people that determines your quality of life.” At the time, I didn’t get the significance of his words, but over time I have come to realize his wisdom.
When I went off to college, my father drove me to the Jackson airport. Pulling up front, he dropped me off. He looked me straight in the eye and shook my hand, “Good luck son.” With that, he got in his car and drove off.
What a difference today when coeds have designer dorm rooms and parents personally move their young adults in. IMHO, that’s nuts.
My father, John Oliver Emmerich Jr., loved to pontificate on life. After all, editorial writing was his profession. He would sit in his favorite chair at the breakfast room table and wax eloquent on every subject imaginable.
Once, someone interrupted him while he was talking. He then calmly said, “Excuse me, but please don’t stop me in mid-pontification.”
In keeping with the family tradition, and in deference to the wisdom of Carl Perkins, allow me to pontificate a bit and give some advice to our newly minted high school graduates.
I am reminded of the movie Groundhog Day, in which the main character is stuck in the same day again and again. Every day he wakes up, it is Groundhog Day. He keeps living the same day over and over again until he finally gets it right and moves on with his life.
You will find that life is a bit like that. Every day you will have the opportunity to wake up and try again to live life the way it’s supposed to be lived. Every day you will fail. But keep on trying. One day, you will break through.
There is a ton of advice out there and almost all of it is true. The hard part is overcoming our failings and living up to what we know is right. You will get discouraged along the way. Adversity will sometimes be overwhelming and debilitating. Persevere. It’s a trial by fire. The reward on the other side is far greater than you can imagine. Don’t give up.
When I was looking for a wife, I noticed all sorts of qualities in the various women I dated over the years. Some were brilliant. Some were hardworking. Some were witty. In the end, I decided the most important trait I wanted to impart to my children was kindness. If there is one piece of advice I can give to graduates, it is this: In all your dealings and interactions in life try as hard as you can to be kind. From kindness flows all that is good in life.
Kindness is the essence of Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments: “Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Wake up every morning and say to yourself, “Today, I will be kind.”
Kindness pretty much solves just about every personal, social and cultural problem we have today.
Here’s some more advice: Stay calm. Don’t get angry. Keep going to church. In all your endeavors work as energetically and as hard as you can. You are starting out in life, the low man on the totem pole. We’ve all been there. Respect the process and respect your elders. Be cheerful and energetic and try to be a good citizen and make a contribution to society in whatever form that may be.
We’ve all been babies. We’ve all been teenagers. And if we survive, we will all be frail and old. Respect everyone equally at all stages of their lives.
You will find that like people, society is far from perfect. Even so, you live in the most prosperous and most free country in the world. Don’t forget that.
There has been much publicity recently about police violence. You can avoid any harm from that by doing two things: First, obey the law. Second, if you do encounter the police, do not argue, do not resist arrest and do exactly what they tell you in a respectful manner. You can argue later in court, if necessary.
I feel blessed by Ruth and her successful navigation of life so far. Thousands of Northside parents should share these emotions as they watch their children reach this milestone. Raising children is the hardest and most complex task any human faces.
Rest assured, the Northside Sun will continue to chronicle the progress of our good life for years to come.
