Congratulations, Dylan - You Make The 6th Crandall/Isgar Graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School

I hated to miss a family event, especially one as important as a high school graduation, but school-endings mean summer-beginnings for my work with CWP-Fairfield. They release them, and I take them in. I was lucky enough, however, to be in Syracuse last week to spend quality time with my nephew, Dylan, before his party and his departure to the U.S. Army (stationed for bootcamp outside of St. Louis, Missouri).

I'm proud of him. He has been determined for a very long time to serve in the military and looked up to his grandpa Fred for many years. I used to love seeing the admiration he had for my brother-in-law's father and, without a doubt, there was a tremendous connection between them.

I'm also proud of his high school success. Somewhere around 9th grade he started to do really well in school and when asked what the resurrection was he simply stated, "Oh, I just thought I'd try a little more this year." Dylan - the kid with the infatuation for Godzilla (I still remember the talking dinosaur with him as a toddler). Dylan - the game enthusiast who always decries, "Can you give me $20 bucks?' so he could buy another game. Dylan - the artist, who at an early age loved to draw so I kept buying him blank journals to doodle in. Dylan - the loner, who occasionally graced us with his presence when he felt like offering it to us. Dylan - the late-blooming musician who loved to sing and, we later learned, dance to music we didn't even know he knew. Dylan - the sarcastic comedian whose one-liners dig deep (and are probably the result of living a life following Nikki who needed to be the center of all attention). Dylan - the worker, who keeps an eye on my sister and knows when it is time to step up and pitch in. Dylan - the dishwasher, Cicero Country Pizza will miss you. Dylan - the Tuesday ritualist who, if he could, never missed a lunch with my parents at the Clam Bar. Dylan - the movie fanatic (like his dad) who keeps abreast of the latest showings (he's come a long way from that awful dragon movie Mike and I took him to as a kid). Dylan - the silent warrior who has his heart and mind set on serving the United States Army and who is passionate about history and democracy.

Yesterday, the family celebrated my nephew, but I was in Connecticut doing what I do in the summer.  I'm glad the day was a success and I am thinking of him and our family the day after, too.

He's my height now...was my weight, but slimmed down nicely to make basic training requirements. Perhaps he'll be a runner, too - I've bought him a few pairs of sneakers to encourage this. Something tells me, too, that he might one day be a history teacher.

But it should be known, either Chitunga or I always beat him in RISK. Here's to the another generation of Crandall/Isgar success.