AND NOW A WORD TO ALL OF YOU CLASS OF '97 GRADS

To all the graduates in the Class of 1997:

More than once, as you go through the rituals of getting a diploma, you will hear that commencement marks a new beginning. This is difficult to grasp for some of you, because graduation also is a celebration of an end to the hard work you have finished to get where you are.

Let's face it: Life is a series of new beginnings, even though we pause along the way to mark our accomplishments. Birthdays, after all, cap not only the end of one year of life, but also mark the beginning of another year. The same with New Year's Eve.

Many of your commencement speakers will talk about the future, and they will attempt to indicate that you have some important and ambitious role to play in that future. Listen carefully. These speakers, many of them parents and grandparents in their own right, once were sitting in a crowd of caps and gowns. They were listening to graduation speeches and wondering more about the party to follow than there were contemplating contributions to retirement plans or saving for their kids' college tuition.

Look at the audience during your graduation. More than likely your parents, possibly your grandparents are there, beaming with pride, trying to take your picture. When they were about to graduate was probably the first time it occurred to them that they or one of their classmates would someday run for governor -- and get elected. Or do heart surgery. Or sell you some insurance. Or preach a sermon from the pulpit on Sunday.

Are you ready for that?

Just to double-check, here are three things every graduate should consider (every graduation message needs three points -- it's a rule nearly every commencement speaker will follow, including you, if you're ever asked to deliver such an address):

1. The jitters you are experiencing as you contemplate what comes next in your life will eventually go away, only to be replaced by other qualms over such things as a new baby, a new mortgage or a new job. Jitters are normal. They are a sign that you are aware of life's awesome responsibilities.

2. Plan for the future. How many times have you heard that recently? But it can't be said enough. Every action you take today will likely have some consequence later in life. How you treat your family, friends, fellow students and co-workers will be remembered for a long, long time. How would you like to be remembered in a critical life-choice decision a few years from now?

3. It is impossible to be too kind. This is the advice mothers like to give when they are asked to speak at commencements. This is self-serving, in some ways. Mothers treasure your expressions of genuine love and affection -- mushy birthday cards, early phone calls on Mother's Day, unexpected small gifts -- more than you can ever imagine. But you know what? Everyone else appreciates and respects anyone who takes the time to be nice. Isn't that what they tried to teach you in kindergarten? Now that you're graduating, have you learned that lesson?

Good luck. Every graduate will hear that hundreds of times. But there is more to life than luck. There is grit, good intentions and goodwill. Call them the Three G's. (See? Another set of three things.) Anyone who takes the learning represented by a diploma seriously and sets high by achievable goals will, more than likely, have what the rest of us call good luck.

The future is yours. And ours. Don't mess it up for either of us.