I too am having difficulty accepting that it\u2019s been 50 years since we walked across the Annie Hogan Byrd stage to receive our diplomas from Dr. Trout.\u00a0 Wow!!<\/p>\n
Whatever financial gift we are able to provide to Tusculum this year will certainly be important.\u00a0 However, to me the greater legacy we leave to honor our alma mater are the lives we have lived since we left the campus so many years ago.\u00a0 Lives of service to others and to the communities in which we lived.\u00a0 We do not know the impact we\u2019ve had.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of a lesson one of my grandfathers taught me even before I came to Tusculum.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think much about it then, but it has echoed back to me occasionally. We were fishing in one of the ponds on the farm on which I was reared.\u00a0 The fish weren\u2019t biting and so I began to skip rocks across the pond.\u00a0 My grandfather took one rock and threw it into the pond. He asked that I watch the ripples of water as they rolled across the pond.\u00a0 He then went on to explain that those ripples were like words we said to others; actions we took in the family, school and the community.\u00a0 Those words and actions rippled out and had impact on others. Take care, he said, that your words and your actions have positive impact on others.\u00a0 You, my classmates had a great impact on me, far beyond what you may know, and the life I was able to have.\u00a0 You\u2019ve had that same impact on the lives of countless others across your careers.\u00a0 We can continue to have that impact each and every day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thank you classmates for what you have done and what you continue to do.\u00a0 Peace!! Ron May\u00a0 ’68<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I too am having difficulty accepting that it\u2019s been 50 years since we walked across the Annie Hogan Byrd stage to receive our diplomas from Dr. Trout.\u00a0 Wow!!<\/p>\n
Whatever financial gift we are able to provide to Tusculum this year will certainly be important.\u00a0 However, to me the greater legacy we leave to honor our alma mater are the lives we have lived since we left the campus so many years ago.\u00a0 Lives of service to others and to the communities in which we lived.\u00a0 We do not know the impact we\u2019ve had.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of a lesson one of my grandfathers taught me even before I came to Tusculum.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think much about it then, but it has echoed back to me occasionally. We were fishing in one of the ponds on the farm on which I was reared.\u00a0 The fish weren\u2019t biting and so I began to skip rocks across the pond.\u00a0 My grandfather took one rock and threw it into the pond. He asked that I watch the ripples of water as they rolled across the pond.\u00a0 He then went on to explain that those ripples were like words we said to others; actions we took in the family, school and the community.\u00a0 Those words and actions rippled out and had impact on others. Take care, he said, that your words and your actions have positive impact on others.\u00a0 You, my classmates had a great impact on me, far beyond what you may know, and the life I was able to have.\u00a0 You\u2019ve had that same impact on the lives of countless others across your careers.\u00a0 We can continue to have that impact each and every day.<\/p>\n