As I look back on my life, the day I graduated from high school was one of the most memorable moments of my life – with the exception of my wedding day and the birth of my two sons, of course.

Friday, May 25, 2001

As I look back on my life, the day I graduated from high school was one of the most memorable moments of my life – with the exception of my wedding day and the birth of my two sons, of course.

It was on that day I went from being a boy to being a man. It was that day I began to really learn what the word responsibility meant. For all intents and purposes, it was the first day of the rest of my life.

Graduation day is a milestone everyone looks forward to. For many who will go on to college, it will be the first time they are away from home for an extended period of time. For those who don’t go to college, it usually means finding a job and working toward independence. For everyone who graduates, there is usually something significant that comes out of it.

Let’s face it, it’s also a time to celebrate. Unfortunately, many graduation celebrations across the nation turn tragic.

Anyone who is graduating this weekend or in the weeks to come will probably have little trouble finding a graduation party. And at these parties, more than likely, alcohol will be involved.

It is nothing more than a fantasy to think we can eliminate drinking on graduation night. In a perfect world we could, but the hard fact is it is going to happen. What I would like to ask the graduates to do is – please – be responsible.

The last thing I want to have to put in the paper is a young life cut short because of an alcohol-related accident, especially after a graduation party. You may think it can’t happen to you, but believe me it can.

In my career as a journalist I had the misfortune of seeing a young life lost on graduation day on two different occasions. The first was a junior, killed after school when another teen ran a stop sign. Alcohol was not involved in this crash, but the young man who died was speeding through town.

The second was a young man on his way home to get ready for graduation. He went left of center and hit another vehicle head-on. Both he and the driver of the other vehicle were killed. This young man had been drinking.

I lost a great friend due to drinking and driving. My roommate my sophomore year in college died on New Year’s day in 1992, four days after he lost control of his car and hit a van. He had been drinking.

John was only 20 years old when he died and spent the last four days of his life in a coma and on life-support.

Graduates, I beg you, if you are going to drink, be sure you have a designated driver to get you home safely. Parents, if your child is going to a graduation party, take the initiative to make sure they have a ride home.

Remember grads, this is the first day of the rest of your life.