Malcolm Gauld
My son is now a man. I guess that means that his old man is now, well, an old man.
During my headmaster days (1987-98) I wrote a 4-page newsletter called Malcolm’s Monthly. Here’s an excerpt from the piece I wrote 18 years ago on the occasion of his birth:
….While it may be less common for folks in my generation to quote fighters of the military persuasion, I confess to being moved by a prayer attributed to the late General Douglas MacArthur:
“Build me a son, O Lord,
Who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
And brave enough to face himself when he is afraid,
One who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
And humble and gentle in victory.”
Let’s turn to rock lyrics. As the Gaulds settled in for bed on Harrison’s first night at home (“A Long Night’s Journey Into Day?”), John Hiatt’s “Real Fine Love” was playing in my head:*
“Well now the babies are all sleepin’
And the twilight’s givin’ in
She looks like you, he looks like her
And we all look like him.”
Yeah, life is good right now. In the days leading up to Harrison’s birth, the Hyde students were merciless in their insistence that I yearned for a boy. They were wrong. I had already been blessed with two daughters and would only have been more so with a third. Of course, I’m ecstatic over having a son.
While nothing’s changed on that front, I can’t say that I was ready for him to become an adult, especially given the fact that he’s the youngest of our three children. However, as you can tell from the picture, he seems to like the idea.
Onward, Malcolm Gauld
* At the time, I never would gave guessed that Messr. Hiatt would soon become a Hyde parent and the father of two Hyde graduates.
