on linda’s porch: some wondrous things are about to bloom

[In Linda’s front yard, flowers abound in every corner. Photo is mine.]

Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life

~~Steve Jobs (Probably not spoken at the Greenport graduation, but I like the quote so here it is.)

Saturday 21 June 2025–

Mariam and I are visiting her colleague and friend, Linda Mugford. She has a beautiful home in the beautiful town of Greenport, NY. It’s a absolutely beautiful day. The three of us are sitting on her porch, and a cool and impossibly fresh breeze is making her wind chimes clink and ring and echo in her backyard. Her dog, Ginger’s tail makes a faint thumping as she lies, dreaming dog dreams on the porch floor. It’s 8:39 AM. Twenty-one minutes before the parade begins. It’s not your usual parade. No, it isn’t. It’s the start of the graduation ceremonies.

I love a parade, so I’m anxiously watching the far end of Front Street for the first fire engine.

There’s the siren. Then the blast of the firetruck’s horn.

I step into the yard and stand beside the Day Lilies. The flowers are just hours away from blooming, so it seems. The buds are nearly bursting forth, but not yet.

[The Day Lilies. So near to blooming. Photo is mine.]

I look to the left. The seniors, I’m told, decorate their cars, or ride in the back of a pick-up, or just wave from the windows. As I wait for the first car, I look up…

[Utility poles along Front Street leading to the Greenport School. The graduates are honored by their photos flapping in the breeze. Photo is mine.]

People are lining the sidewalk. Family. Friends. Cheering and yelling congratulations to each student with a cap and gown.

[Video is mine.]

[A grad in an MG. Life is sweet. Photo is mine.]

My wrists are getting sore from the waving. My voice is still strong enough to yell: Good for you! I stand back to take it all in. The horns, music, shouts fill the air.

Then I look at the lilies next to me. I look at the seniors. A metaphor is inches away. The grads, the flowers…they are both about to explode out into the world. One to fill the nose with sweet odors and fill the eye with colors. The other, to return the mortar boards and gowns to the gym, head to the backyard, the restaurant, the beach with friends and family and then…and then start packing for college or preparing to take a job.

And each one, in their own special way, go out to make a splash in the world. I did the same thing seventy years ago to the day. I don’t know if I made a splash, but I did learn something. Something I can yell at each passing car and each graduate…

I would shout into the wind to them and tell them to make each moment count. Remember everything. Take notes. Keep a journal of your life and thoughts. Take plenty of pictures.

And sing whatever song you wish. Dance to whatever tune makes you happy…

That’s how Mariam and I spent a beautiful Saturday in June. Way out on Long Island.

[The Greenport School. It houses K – 12. A student will spend their school days in the same building. Go in as a crying Kindergartner (like I did), and come out a young man or woman. Photo is mine.]