Dear Editor,
Upon reading about the controversy over the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross a thought came to mind of some words of wisdom I heard long ago. I am a member of the Class of 1967 and I am also a currently enrolled student (It is just taking me a while to catch up with my class). Words of wisdom and bronze statues can stand the test of time I would think. A bronze statue certainly has a physical presence, where words of wisdom have to sometimes be repeated. What I have written below is an attempt to express these words of wisdom first heard over fifty years ago. Those words of wisdom were expressed to a group of young men, of which I was one, in the fall of 1963 by a member of the Class of 1966:
Time does come and time does go
And what’s left is called the past.
When you try to change it,
Your efforts are miscast.
Because it really happened
And you weren’t there to see
You didn’t live in those times
To know how life should be.
Now if things were just the same
As they were back then,
Then your thoughts would merit have,
For you to take a stand.
But take a look around you
On this campus where you walk
And then take a minute plus
To hear another thought.
For today is not back then
Things have truly changed
Diversity surrounds you
Brought about by mortal man
If this statue made of bronze
Does torment your very soul,
Take a walk to the east
And you’ll see a roadway old.
Surely you will notice
That this road goes both ways.
And as the saying goes,
You can take it any day.
Highway 6 is the balm
To heal your tortured soul
Travel down it either way,
And peace for you will show.
And leave us to those very things
That makes this place so grand
For you could never, ever see
The Spirit of Aggieland.