The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

Regardless of the whole Lexicon thing, I was interested in reading JKR's speech for Harvard's graduation. It was a good speech. It was certainly better than my commencement speech. (It seems that Pitt doesn't try at all with their speakers.) It was also very much a commencement speech, which is fine since it was a graduation. There was one part, though, that brought me to tears.

"The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister."

While I do not have the benefit of having lived an additional 16 years with my friends, and while we may have graduated in different years, the sentiment is the same. You will be my children's (secular) godparents, the people I turn to in times of trouble, the inspiration for the names of evil things that I create. And yes, much will continue to change. One thing never will, though.

I will always have that photographic evidence. Ha! You're screwed.

ps Perhaps the sentence in the penultimate paragraph should have been written like this to avoid any confusion as to whose words were actually used: You will be "my children's" (secular) "godparents, the people" I "turn" to "in times of trouble", the inspiration for the names of evil things that I create.
(All words in quotes are that of JKR (and possibly WB). No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made from the use of these words. Unless my friends read it and want to give me money for writing nice things about them. I'll let you know.)