Thank you. In all my life I've never received anything like this. I've been preparing for the evening, which I knew would be a nice modest affair, and wrote a nice lecture that lasted exactly two minutes, and then came here and saw myself welcomed by my Polish compatriot, who had—as you would expect—her messages to all of us: "Poland is not yet lost while we still live," which I hope that you keep in mind. But to have made such a production with this artwork, with that wonderful music that we have listened to, with the food, and that there was wine in every single wineglass—think of that! That was special, but I still have something to say for two minutes.
Well, good evening. What a pleasure to see you all gathered together, hundreds and hundreds of you, some I haven't seen for 50 years, when I was 40 and you were 17. And I think of that day in 1958 when 35 very insecure boys and girls came by to greet a half-dozen very insecure teachers, and that was the beginning of the school. And I was asking myself, will they come back tomorrow? And they did! And they came back afterwards (and 50 years later, some of us; too many with white hair and carrying canes).
What sort of school have we built during these 50 years? It wasn't easy but we learned to work together, to speak honestly to each other, and to respect each other's differences. We had enough money; my father was a rich Wall Street banker, and we could accept any boy or girl hungry for a serious education whether their parents had enough money or not. Now times are bad, and families whose financial security is badly threatened may see private school tuition as a luxury. Nevertheless I trust in Commonwealth's ability to deal with bad times. We have always worked with a realistic budget; we have a responsible, self-reliant student body, absolute first-rate leadership in our headmaster Bill Wharton, a man whom we can trust and respect.
It was a good honest approach, and I ask for your realistic generosity in helping to maintain our school's strength. Perhaps next week's election will give us a new hope; will make it easier for young Americans at Commonwealth to feel at home in their country.
Well, good evening. What a pleasure to see you all gathered together, hundreds and hundreds of you, some I haven't seen for 50 years, when I was 40 and you were 17. And I think of that day in 1958 when 35 very insecure boys and girls came by to greet a half-dozen very insecure teachers, and that was the beginning of the school. And I was asking myself, will they come back tomorrow? And they did! And they came back afterwards (and 50 years later, some of us; too many with white hair and carrying canes).