Generally Excellent Dude

I got a great Father’s Day present today. My son, Keith (MySpace, Facebook), called and said that he had completed his GED!

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog (yeah, you two, there) you might remember a post I wrote a couple of years ago expressing concern about the alarming dropout rate among high school students, and how it affects the way young adults talk about graduation. Little did I know that only about six months after I wrote that, my own son would drop out, just prior to graduation.

It doesn’t have anything to do with intelligence; he is a smart kid — er, young man — although he hasn’t always made wise choices (as is often the case when one is in one’s late teens.) He passed the GED easily, which is no surprise to me. He is faster than I am at solving a standard 3x3x3 Rubik’s cube, and he can solve the harder 4x4x4 Rubik’s Revenge and even the 5x5x5 Professor’s Cube. His musical, spatial, and artistic talents have always been his strengths, but he is no slouch at poetry, abstract thinking, or math, either. (I have no idea how many digits of π he is currently able to recite, but it’s many times further than my mere 3.1415926535.)

And to top things off, he’s decided to enroll in the Art Institute of Colorado, something that thrills both me and Lannette. We’ve always tried to encourage him to expand upon his natural artistic talents, and now he appears to be doing exactly that.

There have been many times when I’ve been proud of Keith: each time he scored a “1” in his fine arts solo competitions, each time he drew fantastic image that simply sprung from somewhere deep in his mind, each time he told a horrible pun, or even out-geeked me on a geek test. But I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of him than I am right now.

Congratulations, son, on completing your GED and on your choice to continue your schooling. You have grown into a Generally Excellent Dude.

9 thoughts on “Generally Excellent Dude

  1. Gnarly man! Wayne’s World! Wayne’s World! Party Time! Excellent!

    Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Thanks Dad. =D You’re pretty awesome yourself.

  2. Congratulations, Keith! So glad to hear that all is falling into place now. Keep up the good work, and don’t forget to share your experiences at school with your Uncle “Art Dude”. I am sure he wishes only the best for you. Give us a ringy dingy some day, we would love to hear your voice.
    Love Aunt Judy

  3. Congratulations, Keith!

    You’ve come a long way from:
    “Hey Dad! Your heater takes trash!”

    Have fun at the Art Institute!

    Jinjer

  4. Nice work, Keith. You’ve made you old man very proud, and more importantly you’ve achieved something very significant for yourself. Well done indeed.

  5. This is great news! Congratulations, Keith. You’ve taken an important step that will stand you in good stead for life. I hope the Art Institute is everything you want it to be, and more. Be well.

  6. Congrats Keith. I know we only met a few times as a former colleague of your dad’s, but I wanted to voice my sincere support. I also earned my GED as an alternative to the high school thing. For me it was the best decision and I have never regretted it. I’ve since finished college and am doing better in my career than I ever could imagine. I even had one employer tell me that they trusted good GED scores better than a high school diploma because the standards were higher in most cases. — The Art Institute?? That is where I wanted to go like 10 years ago. Man, I should have done it. I’m so jealous! Make the most of it. I wish you all the best. Just remember: You’ll love the joy that self discipline brings. Love it! The satisfaction of learning ‘the art of completion’ is like nothing else!

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