Letters from Frank: A Commencement Address

This is a commencement address Ty delivered to his graduating class at Cass City High School on May 28, 2010.

I can say that I am thankful to God for a wonderful childhood and a happy adult life...

So opened the very first letter I received from Frank Morris. Son of a prominent country doctor and devoted mother, Frank grew up just like we did, here in Cass City. He was an honor student, Red Hawk track star, and president of the graduating class of 1936. With a span of over 70 years between us, friendship, some would say, is most unlikely; and indeed it is. But God has a way of bringing kindred spirits together, and He did this with Frank and me. 

While Frank often tells me that he is glad to be my friend, I believe that it has been, and is, my pleasure and honor to be a friend of his, because over the past four years he has taught me some of the most important life lessons I will ever learn, sparing me the pain of having to learn them the hard way. It is to you, the graduating class of 2010, our graduating class, that I wish to share the wisdom of my extraordinary friend, lessons I've learned from letters from Frank.

When I received that letter back in 2006, I had no idea that it would be the first of many destined to fill the little shoebox it occupies today. Nor did I realize that Frank was teaching me the first of many life lessons: Life is short. Make the most of it and be sure every moment is purpose-filled. 

As a young boy, Frank, like many of us, made mistakes and had his share of close calls; but overall, he was a very happy individual. It was in high school, however, that he realized his life was missing something. He came to the realization that a life without purpose is a life not lived to its fullest potential. And so it was then that he dedicated his life to God, for Him to guide and direct, to make straight life's otherwise crooked paths. His life since then has, indeed, been purpose-filled. His compassionate heart, generous spirit, and benevolent demeanor have won and secured him life-long friends, taking him even to the far reaches of India, where he was his doctor friend's guest of honor at a dedication for a mission hospital.

Living a life of purpose is not the only lesson he has taught me. It was in one particularly introspective letter that Frank wrote, "Perhaps one of the most important character traits one can have is humility." He wrote that, as young people, we "will have a lot of successes" and something he calls "also-rans;" that we should take them all in stride and thank God for all of them. And therein lies the second significant lesson Frank taught me: Humble yourself and view all things as a means to the end. 

The first time I read that line about "successes and also-rans," I was uncertain of what he meant. After all, I knew what a success was; but what was an "also-ran"? The more I thought about his words, however, I realized that an "also-ran" is what many would otherwise view as a failure. You see, sometimes when we run a race we will take the prize. There are other times, though, when we will do our best, yet not place at all--thus, an "also-ran." Within the relatively short period of time I have known Frank, his wise words on this matter have helped me on several occasions, as the idea of failure has occasionally crept into my mind.

The third and final lesson is perhaps the one that has had the biggest impact on me: Have high standards and adhere to them. In today's world where athletes are willing to sidestep hard work in favor of achieving their physical goals through performance-enhancing drugs; where investors are willing to embezzle millions of their clients' hard-earned dollars to advance their own personal endeavors; and where politicians are willing to bribe their colleagues in order to pass unpopular legislation, the idea of adhering to high standards is foreign to our culture.

It was in the Morris family home, perhaps, that young Frank learned this most valuable lesson firsthand, allowing him to teach me the lesson years later. His parents, while respected by all, were not always accepted socially in the community. They would not compromise the Christian values they held so dear, often making them less than welcome at events in the community's social circle. Frank adopted these values as well and has taught me that, while at times compromise is a necessary part of life, in regard to standards, one should resolve never to compromise their principles in order to gain favor with the culture in which they live. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his soul?

Over the past few years, Frank has taught me many lessons, all of which I do not have the time to relate to you today. But it is my hope that, as seniors, and now as the incoming generation on the world's stage, we will bind to our hearts the time-tested lessons a once small-town Cass City kid, now aged gentleman has taught us--that to live a life of purpose, humility, and dignity is of far greater value than to live the empty, money-hungry lives the world attempts to pass off to us as true success.

And so, here we are, the graduating class of 2010. May we, upon our entrance into the world of independence, be remembered as a body of students endowed with success, blessed with humility, and committed to lives of purpose, who changed the world forever.