A Few Words Of “Wisdom” from Robert Fulghum—
the Author Of "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten,"
For Young Students Headed
To a Teaching Career.
Fulghum’s Recommendation’s: (somewhere between Murphy’s Law and The Ten Commandments)
1) Buy lemonade from any kid who is selling.
2) Anytime you can vote on anything—vote!
3) Attend the 25th reunion of your high school class.
4) Choose having time over having money.
5) Always take the scenic route.
6) Give at least something to any beggar who asks.
7) Give money to all street musicians.
8) Always be someone’s Valentine.
9) When the circus comes to town, be there.
I do not want to talk about what you understand about this world.
I want to know what you will do about it.
I don’t want to know what you hope.
I want to know what you will work for.
I don’t want your sympathy for the needs of humanity.
I want your muscle.
As the wagon driver said when they came to a long, hard hill,
“Them that’s going on with us, get out and push. Them that ain’t, get out of the way!”
I give you this Swiss Army Knife as a symbol of Fulghum’s
wisdom. He too gave a Swiss Army Knife to his own son at his college graduation. It was a part of a “Kit Bag.” What’s a “Kit Bag”? It is a small bag that the American Indians carried. The early explorers of this country learned from the native Americans to carry a small bag containing all the essential tools needed for survival. They carried a flint and steel, a piece of leather “string”, a cutting edge. These are the things they needed to survive in their world. I give to you, upon your Graduation, the beginning of your own “Kit Bag.” I give to you your own Swiss Army Knife. Use it as needed to help you survive. Of course, it is only a part of your “Kit Bag.” You will have to supply the other items. Go off now and get the other things you need to survive in your own world. Good luck and remember, “When the circus comes to town, be there!”
R. Benz, June 2004
