I remember being in third grade and having to line up and pair off with a classmate to walk down the hallway to some destination beyond our classroom. At Sherwood elementary school, there might have been 29 or 30 nine-year-olds and one teacher. On the day I'm recalling, I was paired off with a kid named Sammy. I was new at Sherwood and someone warned me that Sammy had sweaty palms. As we headed down the hallway, he took my hand. His hand was sweaty, but it didn't matter. We held hands without embarrassment. We were not self-conscious. We were little, at least relative to the world we were living in, and it could not of been more natural to reach out, to partner, to connect. Later, Sam would be one of the first friends of mine to get a muscle car in high school. That is a different story!

Last week on NPR, there was a segment on Brookeville, Maryland, whose claim to fame is that it served as the seat of government for the United States for one day in August 1814. Next August 26 will be the 200th anniversary of Brookeville becoming the “Capital for a day.” You may know the story.

2013 Graduation Remarks

One of the wonderful things about sending your kids to a Quaker school is that the whole family becomes part of a community. Sandy Spring Friends School’s community is caring, diverse, opinionated, innovative, motivated and talented. We practice a type of decision making that has its roots in Quaker tradition. Betsy Meyers, a member of our Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting, described our governance in the most beautiful way. I wanted to share it with our school community.

On Wednesday we arrive in Kendal, the heart of Quaker country and the origins of the Society of Friends. I fell asleep last night thinking about whether a "Quaker pilgrimage" is an oxymoron or merely ironic. After all, the whole notion of Quakerism comes from a place of dissent and experimentation - the revolutionary idea that knowing God comes from experiencing the Light within and that the search for Light requires no intermediation by a designated person. The Quaker belief that there is that of God within each person takes the focus off of externalities; we have no amazing cathedrals, and the early Quakers did not even use marked gravestones (a significant nod toward equality of all mankind or perhaps a reminder of the famous Quaker stinginess?). Again, the idea that we are all children of the Light encourages a certain simplicity. Note the spare Meeting Houses devoid of stain glass and architectural flourish.

The final episode of 30 Rock included a message that, in many ways, was quite profound. Basically, both Liz and Jack find themselves in roles that they had spent their whole lives working to achieve and - you guessed it - they’re actually quite miserable.

I love this expression. It appears above the door of Moore Hall where it has reminded us of our better selves for over 50 years. I have co-opted it to be at the end of all of my emails, and I often wonder how my friends on Wall Street react when they read it. I suspect that they are a little jealous that I am in a position where I can include this gem every time I write an email. It is poetic and graceful and - even though it is a quote that originates in a slightly different form from early Quakers in the 17^th Century - it is utterly modern.

If I were to acquire a tattoo, it would say: “Proceed as the Way Opens.” “Let Your Life Speak” might also make an appearance, but I will save that one for another day.