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Commemorative Speeches

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It is the early spring of 2016, a hot, sunny Friday afternoon. Dozens of us sit together, side by side, in rows of metal folding chairs in the Events Center. We wear nice formalwear. We listen impatiently to long speeches. When the ceremony is over, we are congratulated by our families, and we are officially finished with the school year, the honor roll students of the school district, in the town of Taylor, Texas. For many of us, the curtain has come down on easy schoolwork. Afterwards, I find Donald Edwards, my dad, and introduce him to my teachers. In his sandy tan suit, he looks like a cross between a businessman and a desert lizard. He has blue eyes, thinning black hair that curls on his head, a roundish nose, and black tufts of eyebrows. Although his beard and mustache are nearly covering his mouth--as if his hair were unkept vines--when he smiles it’s as if you’d just told the first joke on earth. …show more content…

He tells them, “You have a committed student here.” Before we leave, I hand my dad my award, a tan paper with navy blue outlines. I had won it for getting A’s and B’s Freshman year. I was proud of the award. And he was proud of me for winning it, too. “Mack, you are one of the smart ones,” he says, admiring the award. Then he hugs me. I am smaller than he is, and when he hugs me, I feel tiny, as if I were still only 7 years

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