R. Bruce Macmurdo

I can picture Boat now as if he were still here: the LSU baseball cap, the twinkle in his bright blue eyes, his endearing Louisiana drawl, the cool libation attached to his right hand like Velcro, his gentle demeanor, and his relaxed way. He was a very social person and would have enjoyed being with all of us today. As I reflect upon Boat’s unexpected passing, I am reminded that we are tenants, not owners, of life on this earth, and we know not the day nor the hour when our earthly lease will expire. Every day is a gift, a gift that should never be taken for granted. In times like this, you hold tightly to your faith. I know that I will see Boat again, and I look forward to the time when we will be reunited. As the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “Death is like a covered bridge leading from light to light through a brief darkness.” Someday we will all be together with Boat in that light across the covered bridge.

In basketball, a key player on each team is the point guard. Boat knew about the value of a good point guard. He himself played on a champion high school basketball team at Baton Rouge High School. The point guard is the team leader, and the point guard’s responsibility is to run the offense and penetrate and pass and distribute the ball so that the other players are in a position to take high percentage shots. A good point guard makes all of his or her teammates better players. Boat was our Class of ’71 point guard. Through his kindness and care and friendship for all those around him, he made us better persons. We are all better persons for having known Boat. This is the mark of a great person.

What can we take from the life of this extraordinarily kind and caring person? To quote Morrie Schwartz, the college professor whose terminal illness was chronicled in Mitch Albom’s book, Tuesdays with Morrie, “Death is the end of a life, not the end of a relationship.” If Boat were with us today, he would exhort us to carry on and emulate him and love one another and be involved everyday in the business of making the world a better place. Some of you may be familiar with the movie Beaches. Beaches is the moving story of a lifelong friendship between two women. At the end, we see the apotheosis of true friendship, one friend dying of a terminal illness, the other friend supporting her in her final days, and Bette Midler sings a beautiful song entitled “Wind Beneath My Wings.” The song describes the inspiration that we can draw from remarkable persons like Boat, and how thankful we should be that such persons have touched us in ways we cannot imagine and can help us achieve what Aristotle calls eudaemonia — attainment of our own self-fulfillment and happiness through the development of our skills and gifts to their highest level. Here is an excerpt from the song:

Did you ever know that you’re my hero,
and everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
for you are the wind beneath my wings.

* * * * *

Oh, the wind beneath my wings.
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.

Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,
so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you,
thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.

Boat, you are our hero, and we are thankful for having known you. May your inspiration — the illustrious life you lived and the many people whose lives you touched — be the wind beneath our wings.

In closing, I go back to my original thought that today is a day to celebrate the life of our dear classmate and friend, Boat. Truly, to know him was to love him. Boat, to you we say that we love you, and you will always be a part of us. Heaven now has the greatest Yale and LSU fan it has ever seen, and the heavenly happy hour has never been so happy. Job well done, dear friend. Good-bye for now from all of us. As is said in Latin, “Ave atque vale.” Hail and Farewell! Thank you.