This week I received a special present in the mail, a copy of a book my grandfather learned to read from, a primer called The Overall Boys.  Published in 1905, The Overall Boys tells the story of four brothers, Jack, Joe, Tim, and Ted and their friends Molly and May.  I re-read it upon its arrival in the mail as I reminisced of when my grandfather read it to me.  The story, however, took on a whole new meaning, as it reminded me of the close bonds our cadets here at the New York Military Academy form living here.  Cadet Zumba once shared with me his feelings for NYMA: “The brotherhood bond you get here is great.  You cannot say you lived your life if you haven’t lived in the barracks.”  Cadet Edmondson shared a similar perspective, she said, “Boarding at NYMA has given me life-long bonds that I will never lose.”  My own two children likewise have shared those same feelings with me and my husband – so we were persuaded to let them board here, even though we live within walking distance of the Academy.  As I left school on Saturday, I exited the Academic Building heading for my empty nest and met two NYMA alumni, Joseph Gadison and Jamal McQuay from the class of ’88.  “We met here,” they told me, “and have been best friends ever since.”  They reminisced about their days here and showed me the exact spot they met first met over 30 years ago.  The bonds of friendship that I see here today, warm my heart because I know they will be there forever just like for Joseph and Jamal, which now brings me back to The Overall Boys.  I opened the book and on the first page it says:

“I wonder why,

I wonder why as the years go by

The Overall Boys in blue,

And Molly and May,

do not grow gray

As other people do.”

That summed it up.  The memories of our youth, those friendships and ties that we make stay locked in our hearts and minds – as Cadet Avaras told me “You aren’t getting the full experience of the New York Military Academy without being in the barracks.  The bonds you form, the brotherhood you build and the memories you make are unlike any other school’s experience.”

-Christine C. McDonald, Dean of Academics