Cup O’ Joe: Hats off to local grads

The chords of “Pomp and Circumstance” echoed through several area high schools this past week as Houlton, Hodgdon, East Grand and Katahdin high schools all held their 2011 commencement exercises. Southern Aroostook and Greater Houlton Christian Academy hold their ceremonies this coming Friday.
    Not much has changed with these ceremonies in the 22 years since I received a diploma. Students essentially wear the same caps and gowns that have been worn for decades. Many had the same look of wonderment, excitement, relief and terror on their faces as several of my classmates (myself included) did back in 1989.
A recurring theme at the two graduation ceremonies I covered this past weekend was the hope of maintaining friendships with classmates for years to come. It always sounds great in theory, but the truth is, many will go their separate ways, only thinking of those they went to school with when it comes time for class reunions. Some, however, will be able to maintain friendships that last a lifetime.
Another insight by students was that many realized they were now responsible for paying their own bills. That realization can be a pretty daunting one, considering the prices of things these days.
An interesting tidbit to note, when the Class of 2011 was born, there was no such thing as Facebook, texting or Ipods. There was no such thing as downloading songs off the Internet at that point. Much has changed in terms of technology in their lifetime. It’s almost scary to think how much further it will go in the years ahead.
Most of this year’s graduates were born in 1993, so I thought it would be interesting to note some of the year’s top events that happened that year. The average price of gas in 1993 was $1.16 and the average price of a movie ticket was $4.14.
Some of the other notable events from 1993 were: Beanie babies were first introduced; the final episode of “Cheers” aired on NBC; Bill Clinton became the 42nd President of the United States; the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas was raided by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms with a warrant to arrest leader David Koresh, resulting in a 51-day standoff that claimed nine lives; and in an eerie prelude, a bombing took place at the World Trade Center when a van parked below the north Tower exploded, killing six.
The staff at The Houlton Pioneer Times extends best wishes to all of the area graduates. You are our future and it will be interesting to see where that future leads us all.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for The Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.