Sergeant Tony's Blog

As a high school teacher I attended a lot of graduation exercises. Commencement speeches, usually delivered by some successful and/or famous person, are notorious for following a certain formula.

1. Congratulate the graduates.
2. Commend them for their hard work.
3. Challenge them with the need for their contribution to our country.
4. Motivate them with a success story.
5. Now, go out there and attack the hill!!!

Or variations on those themes. The speeches are expected to be motivating and positive.

The valedictorian’s speeches also follow a formula. I think they all download the same speech from “UnrealisticExpectations.com. Their formula looks like this:

1. High school is finally over, can you believe it?
2. We’ve worked really hard.
3. We’ve come a long way.
4. The future belongs to us.
5. Let’s go have fun!

The downloaded speech probably comes with a video that teaches them how to deliver that speech in a high pitched voice, in an octave range only heard by dogs and cats.

None of the guest speakers ever say things like, “HEY, YOU THERE!” pointing at some dufuss kid texting his stoner buddy during the ceremony, “repeat after me, ‘would you like fries with that, sir?’”

And you never see the valedictorian point at the marginal student/ marginal football player/over indulged spoiled kid — acting too cool for the ceremony — and say “Hey Bonehead! You just peaked! The rest of your life will be spent retelling the past three years over beers at the local watering hole with your loser buddies!”

Wouldn’t it be fun if the speeches actually had that kind of entertainment and shock value? OK, well, maybe that’s just entertaining to me. But I’d pay good money to attend some of those graduations!

This year I attended three graduation commencement exercises.

One of those commencement exercises featured two Ludlow graduates. My son, Matthew, and my daughter, Missy, both graduated from the U of M in the same ceremony. No, I was NOT proud!

The guest speaker, a U of M alum, was Don Hutson, a motivational speaker and author of nine books, including “The One Minute Entrepreneur” which he co-authored with Dr. Ken Blanchard. As he was being introduced, I was already preparing my mind for what I was predicting the speaker would say. I wasn’t expecting to hear anything too interesting. (”Thinkers. Dreamers. Sleepers. zzzzzzzz)

I was wrong. (These are times when I really really LOVE being wrong!!)

Mr. Hutson was awesome! He sort of followed the formula but not really. He included elements of the formula, but expanded them with illustrations and really interesting applications.

I want to share two of the things that he said. They’re actually quotes from other people in his life. He quoted his son and his wife.

One day Mr. Hutson was at home sitting in his chair reading. His son happened to be walking by and stopped in front of his dad, stood there for a minute and said, “Dad, are you alright?” Yes, he was alright. “Dad, are you happy?” Yes, he was happy. To which the son said, “Well then, why don’t you notify your face!?!”

Hutson said that he became instantly aware of the scowl on his face. He was struck by the fact that he makes his living giving motivating speeches and writing motivating books, but at home he didn’t seem very motivated. At that instant he purposed to keep his face informed of his abiding happiness.

Mr. Hutson’s wife was responsible for the other thing that I thought was good. She accused her husband of “Reverse Paranoia.”

“What is reverse paranoia?” he asked.
She said, “You think the world is out to help you!”

What an awesome thing to be accused of! The world is out to help you! He expects people to be agents of good things in his life. He thinks good things will happen. He believes in his heart that good things will happen.

Isn’t it funny how the people who expect the world to screw them … seem to be getting what they expect? And those who seem to have a reverse paranoia view of the world seem to walk through doors of opportunity, opened by others, towards things that nurture their life and give them happiness.

One year, the Valedictorian of the high school where I taught, was a Vietnamese-American boy. He gave one of the most remarkable speeches that I’d ever heard. I sat there in the faculty section, warm tears running down my face, fighting back the full blown sobs that I felt deep inside. He had been one of my favorite students and I loved him dearly. He was humble, generous, kind, respectful, and full of joy!

In his speech, our Valedictorian told of his escape from Vietnam with his family. An escape that involved floating down a polluted river as a little boy, holding on to logs and bamboo shoots, trying to avoid being captured by the North Vietnamese who were trying to find them. His mother and four of his siblings made an unbelievable and daring escape, eventually making their way to an overcrowded boat that took them from Vietnam in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs. His father had been captured in the escape and was presumed dead.

When our Valedictorian and his family arrived in America they had nothing. Absolutely nothing. His father was never heard from. But they managed to carve out a life for themselves, eventually settling in Memphis. Every member of his family worked. In addition to maintaining a 4.4 GPA in the honor’s program, our Valedictorian also worked 30 hours a week in a Vietnamese restaurant, washing dishes and mopping floors.

Just before our Valedictorian stood up to speak, I heard someone behind me — some parent or some guest — say, “Why is it always some ‘Chink-kid’?” I imagined this guy, this moron, believed the world was out to screw him. And I hoped that it was doing just that. Everyday. In every way. Some “Chink Kid?” I hoped that his kid was the one who had just peaked.

Our Valedictorian is now a medical resident who hopes to work at St. Jude someday.

“The world is what you make of it.” he said in his speech. And he ought to know.

And all the people said, “Amen.”

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TODAY’S BIG THREE!

1. Melissa Dixon (Boot Camper, BNI): Affordable Moving “Local and Long Distance Moving”, 901-388-3313

2. Taylor Taylor (Boot Camper) Summer Junior Tennis Camps at the Racquet Club Memphis taught by Taylor, a USPTA Professional, 901-765-4404.

3. Dr. Carl “Buddy” Flinn (Boot Camper), Peepers Optical 773 Estate Pl, Memphis. 901-681-4045. Specializing In Pediatric Eyewear, Pediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus. Sergeant Tony’s eye doc!

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EMAIL PROGRAM CHECK UP

If you got this newsletter today, Wednesday, June 3, BUT YOU DID NOT GET IT LAST WEEK ON WEDNESDAY, would you please email me and let me know?

Cathy Graham and I are working to get rid of the bugs and hope that we are close to getting things right. So if you didn’t get last week’s newsletter on Wednesday, but you DID get it today, June 3. Shoot me an email real quick and let me know. Thank you so much!

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0645 AND 0830 CLASS NEWS!

The 0645 class is up and runnin’!! This is a Monday, Wednesday, Friday class.

The 0830 class is on hiatus for the summer.

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EVENING CLASS NEWS

The evening class meets at CUMC (Christ United Methodist Church) on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Tuesday we meet at St. Mary’s track. St. Mary’s is located at Perkins and Walnut Grove. If you go east on Poplar from CUMC, turn left at the new Walgreen’s. The track is just down the street on the left.

The Friday Evening Class meets at 5:30, instead of 5:45!

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SUMMER SCHOOL SPECIAL

Have a student who’d like to join USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP for the summer? Special discounted program for summer student recruits! Email me for details!

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FLEET FEET SPORTS — NEW LOCATION!

Boot Camper Eric Flanders and his crew have relocated Fleet Feet Sports — USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP’S OFFICIAL Running Store — even closer to us now! You will find them next to the new Panera Bread at Poplar and Grove Park!

Congratulations Eric and Robin!

Go by and say hello and take a look at the new Fleet Feet Sports!

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The world is what you make of it!

To your continued good health and fitness,

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
4888 Southern Ave
Memphis, TN 38117
901-644-0145

www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

www.shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main