As the faculty started down the steps into the area where the families and friends of the Class of 2009 were seated, somebody in the crowd yelled "Thanks for passing most of our kids!" that may be my new favorite audience comment.
Last night, it was looking as though we might need to go to the "Deluge" contingency plan (Kate said "They didn't really use the word "Deluge," did they?" They did.), but really, you couldn't've asked for a nicer day for graduation. It was sunny, but not brutally hot, and there was enough of a breeze that even the student section wasn't as bad as it sometimes gets. The speeches were all good, the students were reasonably well-behaved, and aside from the bagpipers failing to turn up for the recessional, everything went smoothly.
This year's physics and astronomy class was a step back from the last couple of years, where we had double-digit numbers of majors. They're a good bunch, though, and I wish them all well. Congratulations to Dave B., Anna, Dave L., Tom, and John. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.
I'm not sure how the bagpipers failing to turn up is actually a problem.
Back when I attended University of Chicago, a lone bagpiper used to get up early-ish on Sunday mornings to practice in the park adjacent to my apartment. Drove me absolutely nuts.