Rich Zahradnik

I wrote about the last day of school in one of my early Pelham Patch columns back in June. I would never attempt one on the first day of school after reading the piece by the late Mike Levine linked below. The editor and writer got it so right that his column was re-posted by his paper, The Middletown Times-Herald, two and half years after his death and is now shared around the Hudson Valley on this big day.

Quick, before they leave this morning. Take a good look. Touch their faces, run your hands through their hair.We got antsy with them last month, but now we want time to stand still. Like falling leaves and chilly mornings, some great force signals us today. We are aware of life passing. See the kindergartner with a brave, bewildered smile watching her mother cry as the school bus pulls away. The high-school freshman with a lump in his throat hears his father whisper everything will be OK. Brothers and sisters who fought all summer now hold hands.

via Mike Levine: The first day of school | recordonline.com.