Jack is now the recipient of a Bachelors in Fine Arts, bestowed by one of the best schools in the country. As his parents we cannot be more proud of him and his accomplishment.
The ceremony was held at the Leader Bank Pavilion, a seaside open-air venue that, on any other day in May, would have been a gorgeous site.
This was not a typical day in May, however.
Air temperatures hovered around 45° F, winds from right off the ocean gusted over 45 mph, and nearly 2 inches of rain fell over the course of the ceremony. A rare late-spring nor’easter was blowing through. A permanent tent kept the rain off, but the open sides did little to block the weather otherwise.
Much of the out-of-town crowd shivered their way through the day and purchased ponchos and blankets. Locals are generally made of firmer stuff, and most of us also saw the forecast and knew how to dress. There were lots of winter clothes draped over the finery.
The graduates, however, were probably too excited to be cold. If they weren’t comfortable, they didn’t show it. Most gowns were puffed out as people wore jackets and sweaters underneath. (except for one or two that clearly didn’t get the memo about the weather.)
The speeches were surprisingly good, and held the crowd’s attention despite our collective discomfort. Megh and I agreed that it was one of the better graduation ceremonies that we’ve attended.
The graduates looked fabulous, some more than others.
The attendees, however, generally looked a bit bedraggled after a long wait in the rain.
About that: we planned to arrive early, get decent parking so that Baba wouldn’t have to walk far, and stay as dry as possible.
Everyone else had the same great idea. Our idea exploded spectacularly in our face.
We were part of the first wave of people. Two lines formed, one to each side of the gate. One side (our side) crossed a bridge over the water; the other (longer) line snaked around the corner and a couple of blocks down. The security check was a bottleneck.
Everyone was soaked upon entry. Late arrivals really weren’t much worse off than early.
After the ceremony we headed to the Black Rose for an early celebratory dinner, and enjoyed a stroll around Quincy Market as the rain abated.
Funny, I just realized that Jack’s high school graduation also featured abnormal weather. We went from one extreme to the other.