Walker Graduates From Yale...

Sitting in the upper balcony at the first of several graduation ceremonies, we were blessed to be close to the phenomenal choir as they sang Hallelujah. Though the choir made the actual melodious vocalizations, the sentiment was surely heart-felt by families, friends, and the graduates themselves!

Walker graduated from college, graduated from Yale, graduated from Yale cum laude, and graduated from Yale cum laude with a wife and child at his side (one of the very few Yale underclassmen that has started his own family).

Although Yale University is 301 years old, not all of the graduation traditions are what you would call, um, mature, as the seniors unanimously wore self-styled funny hats to Bill Clinton's commencement address. (He gave a very good speech, by the way.)

The head-wear and proceedings were all a bit more formal on the following day, when degrees were confered and certificates handed out. Interestingly, Aretha Franklin also got a degree along with Walker (hers was an honorary PhD for music).

I heard that there were 17,000 in attendance for the ceremonies. I don't think I got them all in this photo, but I got a bunch of them. Can you find Waldo?

What Are the Odds?

Walker and Jenn's car was stolen shortly after they moved to a new neighborhood. That was a couple of months ago. When Audrey and I visited them to see the baby, (about one month after the car was stolen) I got a call from the local police in New Haven who said that they had found the car. What are the chances that they would recover it at all, let alone during the three days that I would be in town? The car was in pretty bad shape when we picked it up. But then, that almost perfectly matched the condition that it was in prior to the theft. That observation leads me to another question. What is wrong with the thieves in New Haven? Why would they steal such an old, ugly, nearly dead car?

On The Road Again

I'll be escorting Walker and Jenn on a trip back to New Haven this week (leaving Tuesday morning). They will be driving their new-old 1996 Plymouth Neon that we gave them and I will be following behind in my Ridgeline with a towrope in the back seat. We hope to get to see RuthAnn and maybe even the de la Parras of Pennsylvania on our way north.

It has been a real pleasure to have Walker and especially Jenn with us the past couple of days. We are sad to see them go, but happy for them to start their married life together.

Beautiful Audrey Visits Caveman Walker at Yale

This is Audrey (my first blog)...
I went to visit Walker at Yale during Parent's weekend in early October. Upon arriving on campus following my Mapquest directions and parallel parking between a BMW and Mercedes in my Jeep, I walked up towards Walker's dorm to meet him. I almost didn't recognize him because he now has a BEARD, sideburns, and longer hair (to cover his receding hairline, he says). We had a super great time in spite of my constant commentary of "I'm still not used to the beard". Walker took me to a concert Friday night where two acapella singing groups sang tremendously well. One was a women's group and the other a male group. All the singers were of course students and exceptional. Saturday we went to the Yale home football game. Yale clobbered Dartmouth 50-10. It was fun for me to go to a college football game (I haven't been to one since my BYU days). We spent much time eating, going to the movies, talking, eating, talking about the beard, eating, walking, etc. Jenn (Walker's girlfriend) joined us for most of our activities and it was enjoyable getting to know her better. From Walker's mom's point of view, Walker seems extremely comfortable at college and he seems to love being on his own and in control of his own world. I love that! Thanks, Walker, for a great weekend!

PS by Steve: Today is Walker's 22nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Walker! You were born at exactly 8am in Provo, Utah. You were mostly purple in color and your head was nice and round except for a ridge that was above your forehead from one side to the other. Your left hand pinky fingertip was bright red. You screamed long and loud. When the nurse heard the name we had picked for you she commented that you would be president one day -- I offered the thought that maybe you'd be an astronaut. Whatever your eventual path, you've already achieved greatness in the eyes of your family.