With graduation on Friday, we see the best of the class of 2006 head off into a world torn by war, disease, and a variety of other concerns.
Those headed off to college will tackle new academic challenges, with the added bonus that they and their parents will have to figure out how to make the payments.
Those headed off to the military will face new challenges, including in some cases enemy bullets. But when and if they decide to move on from the service, they will have new options open to them, made possible by new discipline and a hand from Uncle Sam.
Those headed off to the workplace face the hardest and least rewarding future.
Some will have learned enough technical skills in high school to make them employable in places where they can expand their knowledge and become formidable technicians.
Most will step off the ledge that was mom and dad and into a world where they must earn their own way.
But even they do not face as bleak a future as those who will never walk down the aisle to "Pomp & Circumstance," who will never don the cap and gown.
Those who've failed to obtain a high school diploma will serve those who have. Instead of listening to the good tip to stay in school, they will be living from day to day off tips, hoping for a better life.
We wish graduates all the best, but it's those who are going out into the world without a degree who will need the luck.
