Letter from the editor
Good luck, BHS Class of 2009
Right out of the gate, the graduating Class of 2009 is getting a hard lesson in perspective. Here in the Flathead, one out of every 10 people looking for work can't find it, and nationally, the economy isn't exactly in a boom time. Is this, then, a colossally bad time to be graduating high school and entering the 'real world"? Or is it an opportunity to position yourself as well as possible to meet the needs of an economic structure in flux?
Having had the distinct pleasure to get to know quite a few of Bigfork High School graduating seniors, I do not hesitate to predict they will see their situation as the latter.
There is a tendency to dismiss high school students as bad-driving, inarticulate delinquents. While that stereotype is not entirely without merit, you would be hard-pressed to find a better group of kids than the ones who will walk across the stage at BHS on Sunday afternoon. They are headed off to college or the military or out into the murky waters of the workforce, ready to take the lessons taught in this tiny town all over the country.
So, in the time-honored tradition of thinking older people know better, here, BHS Class of 2009, is some unsolicited advice as you go out to make your way in the world:
- Say "ma'am" and 'sir" if someone is at least as old as your parents. It will illicit surprise and immediate fondness. This is useful because…
- It's a hard truth, but sometimes it really isn't what you know, it's who. You never know when being polite will get you a job, or at least knock that overdraft charge off your bank statement.
- Slow down. Whether in the car or in life, odds are you're not so important that you can't be five minutes late.
- Don't be late.
- Don't forget where you came from. But don't be afraid to leave either. There aren't many places that are more beautiful — or stranger — than the Flathead Valley. See what else is out there, you can always come back.
- Have someone else check your resume for typos. No matter how good an editor you think you are, there's still one in there.
So good luck Class of 2009. Ignore the mutterings of those talking heads and nay-sayers crowing about the dark times we're in or the clouds on the horizon. There is a bright future up ahead, you're the ones carrying the light.
—Alex Strickland