Rocky Mount High School will hold its 57th Graduation Ceremony at its current campus Saturday at 10 a.m. in the main gym.
Congrats to the Class of 2011's 228 graduates.
I just hope the person who reads the names of the graduates as they march across the stage will practice their names before taking to the microphone.
The last thing you want to hear on perhaps, to that point, the biggest day of your life, is your name mispronounced.
Since my name starts with an "A" and I sat on the front row, my few seconds in the sun went early and quick. But you got to feel bad for those guys in the "W's."
The poor man (a former superintendent) who was reading the graduates' names may have gone a bit brain dead after going through 400 names.
A male grad was standing at the base of the steps waiting for his name to be called. His first name was "Emile" pronounced, of course "e-mill". The gentleman called out "Emily W------."
The poor boy thought there was an Emily W------- that should have be ahead of him, so he just stood there.
Perhaps the poor girl had missed her graduation night, he must have thought.
The gentleman repeated the name, and he just continued to stand there. Meanwhile, the entire class of 407 was in total laughter. We knew he was mispronouncing his name, but the gentleman didn't. After the second proclaim, Emile finally stepped up with even more laughter from his classmates, grabbed his diploma and walked briskly back to his seat at the back of the gym.
Yikes!
I never forgot that moment - and that was 35 years ago.
I know poor Emile hasn't!
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