My View
of Graduation
Wareham seniors remember classmate
The day was cloudy, but you could see the sun behind the clouds with just a hint of shine, but not really. We sat on the bleachers waiting for graduation to start. The music started to play, “pomp and circumstance”. The seniors were walking from the high school to the football field. My oldest son said “Mom, look up at the sun it looks like an aura” I looked up at the cloudy sky and around that sun was like a round rainbow, but a blurred round rainbow. It looked like an aura. One of the kids started to talk about the long distance runner and how it compared to school and the last mile and stamina and oh shit here we go one of our classmates who fought the battle and lost, Greggory Kaiser. I held in the tears. Next the chorus starts to sing “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boys 2 Men” “ I know you’re smiling down on me from heaven like so many friends we lost along the way, and I know some day we’ll be together one sweet day...” My sunglasses are on no body will see me cry I won’t allow it. I fight back the tears. They are coming down but I manage to wipe them away. Now the principal is talking and asking the senior class to rise, all 141 of them and the audience to have a moment of silence for Greggory Kaiser. It is done. Now the names are called to receive their diplomas. The names I know quite a few of them. Such a bittersweet time. Not only because of Greggory but because these kids will be on their own. I am sitting in the stands with 3 balloons. One is a silver fancy one with congratulations all over it, one blue and one white. On the white one is written Greggory Ryan Kaiser and on the other side of that one is Miss you. I have a graduate ‘97 gold charm and a note (name and date of birth and death and telling whoever finds may keep the charm but to please call me collect to let me know what part of heaven it landed in. It may be Boston, Buffalo, the middle of the ocean anywhere. (Just as long as I know.) They said it, I hear it “Greggory Kaiser” I let the balloons go. They wouldn’t go, they won’t go, they are stuck, shit, they are suck, there, there they go, up and away, a northwest wind so it will not go out to sea...yet. The whole senior class stands up. They are clapping. The audience is clapping and the principal and others are waving me down. I get up and walk over to the railing but there is no way I can get down other than going around and making everybody wait and I would not do that to the graduating class. So I stand there with Greggorys prize possession (as he had written up in the yearbook) his Oakland A’s hat and I wave it all around so the kids could see and I mouth I will get it later. The kids about 95% of them have G.K. on their mortarboards. I feel bad for them. It will forever affect their lives. They have all graduated, they throw their hats up in the air, they are throwing confetti and water balloons. They are so cute. They start to leave and I am called down and given the class of ‘97’s flowers to put on Greggorys grave. I see his friends they are coming up to me and talking to me and giving me a hug. Some of them even have Greggory’s picture on his mortarboard along with G.K. I want to cry. I look up at the sky and the aura is fading away. Tell me there is no life after death Greggory was there with us and that is how he let us know. We, meaning the family, me, Joe, Johanna, Katherine, Christopher and some friends go to Greggory’s grave and we have a beer with him, and we gave one to Gregg (we poured it over his grave) and we showed him his diploma and told him he made it and how much we missed him and loved him and as always very proud of him.
Wareham High School graduate M, A.'s mortarboard was among many
sporting the initials "GK" in memory of fellow student
Greggory Kaiser, who died of cancer early in the year.
an excerpt from the Wareham Courier
WHS graduates have mixed emotions and memories.
With G.K. taped on every graduate's hat border, the WHS class of '97 not only celebrated its future Saturday, but also remembered its past and classmate Greggory Kaiser. As Principal Daniel Burke said in his address, it was a bittersweet moment for the class of '97 as 141 diplomas were handed out. To remember their friend and classmate who died earlier this year, Burke called for a moment of silence, which was followed by the Wareham High chorus's rendition of Maria Carey's "One Sweet Day".
from another ariticle from same paper
Wareham High School's class of 1997 stands as undergraduates for the
last time. The commencement ceremony, held on Saturday, honored
deceased classmate Greggory Kaiser. Before handing out diplomas,
Principal Daniel Burke spoke to 141 seniors last Saturday, paying
tribute to one classmate who didn't live to graduate with them,
Greggory Kaiser, who died earlier this year, was remembered in a
moment of silencemm and his fellow seniors bore his initials on their caps.
an excerpt from the Standard Times
WAREHAM -- The stands at Spillane Field were filled beyond capacity
with friends and relatives yesterday, there to watch the graduation
of Wareham High School's class of 1997.
Many of their mortarboard caps sported the initials "GK" in
memory of their friend and fellow student Greggory Kaiser, who died
of cancer earlier this school year.
Dr. Burke remarked that emotion on this graduation day was
"bittersweet," after the loss of such a popular student.
The crowd rose in a moment of silence for him, and later applauded
vigorously as he was presented with a posthumous diploma.
But the day was, by in large, a happy one, with the weather
thankfully cooperating throughout the ceremony.
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