People who give books to graduates are probably the same

people who give underwear to children for Christmas. Let s be

honest. You didn t want a book. After all, you have just fin-

ished high school, and you have read about all the books you

will ever need to read, and you have learned about everything

you will ever need to know. Why would you want another

book?

I agree with you. If I could give you a gift, I would give you a

T-shirt instead of a book. But not just any T-shirt. I would give

you one of those T-shirts with your philosophy of life ~tten

across its front so the whole world can see exactly what you are

feeling, thinking, and believing just now.

I am a big fan of T-shirt wisdom. In fact, I am a fan of wis-

dom anywhere I can get it. I even enjoy locker-room wisdom,

the kind that comes printed on those posters that coaches

plaster around the locker room with huge globs of tape.

Where else would I have leamed such life-changing gems as,

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going" or "Only

the guy who hits the ball over the fence can loaf around the

bases"?

I also enjoy classroom bulletin-board wisdom--the kind

that enriches my horizons with such truths as, "Since your

mother isn t here, clean up your own mess" and "Time

passes; will you?" And then there s the ever popular, "If you

can read this, thank a teacher." But since teachers and

coaches don t change their billboards except once every de-

cade or two, I sometimes wonder if they ar~leally personally

committed to that message or are just using those things to

cover a crack in the wall.