Here’s a video about a guy who makes sure our returning servicemen and women get a sincere thanks and welcome when they come home. I love hearing about people like this, regular folks with big hearts who try to make a difference just because it’s the right thing to do – not to win votes, impress others or make a buck. We need more people like this fellow.

Today is Fun Friday on this blog and for 919 new graduates of the Naval Academy I imagine this was about the most fun they’ve had in 4 years.

To the graduates and their families…to those of us who live in Annapolis and perhaps served in the Navy…this is a very big day and we all take pride in this annual event. We’ve watched these young men and women mature before our very eyes, seen the sportsmanship they display on the football field and in other athletic events – and we can’t help but feel proud to be part of this community.

Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the graduating class and offered some good advice: learn from your mistakes; be accountable for your actions; and question authority when appropriate. Not a bad code to live by.

The ceremony ended the way it always does, with the hat toss. If you’ve never seen it before, watch this clip – one I just found on YouTube – from this year’s graduation.

Today is Fun Friday on this blog and for 919 new graduates of the Naval Academy I imagine this was about the most fun they’ve had in 4 years.

To the graduates and their families…to those of us who live in Annapolis and perhaps served in the Navy…this is a very big day and we all take pride in this annual event. We’ve watched these young men and women mature before our very eyes, seen the sportsmanship they display on the football field and in other athletic events – and we can’t help but feel proud to be part of this community.

Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the graduating class and offered some good advice: learn from your mistakes; be accountable for your actions; and question authority when appropriate. Not a bad code to live by.

The ceremony ended the way it always does, with the hat toss. If you’ve never seen it before, watch this clip – one I just found on YouTube – from this year’s graduation.

It has to be one of the smelliest, most spirited rites of passage in Annapolis, if not the entire country: first year Naval Academy students converge en masse on the Academy’s Herndon Monument in a rush to the top. There’s just one catch: the monument is generously greased with 100 pounds of lard.  

Traditionally, the plebe who makes the final ascent removes the plebe “dixie cup” hat (below) on top and replaces it with the midshipman’s cover (or hat) - a move symbolizing the plebes’ completion of their first grueling year.

This year’s climb on Thursday morning saw the Midshipmen finish the job in just under 2 hours and 36 minutes – not bad, though not nearly a record breaking time: no fewer than six plebe classes have come in at under an hour.

It’s Fun Friday on this blog, as always, and we thought you’d enjoy a firsthand look at the excitement from this year, below.