They recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and then...

...members of the James Madison High School Class of 2004 received their diplomas.

As Paul David Alexander began to walk up to the stage, his cell phone rang: "Hello... Look, I can't talk now, I'm graduating." (Okay, okay, we had the whole thing planned. How else was he gonna distinguish himself?) That night, he and the boys were up late (what else?) playing video games, when I get a call from him. He and three other guys are planning to go in on renting a townhouse near Fairfax Circle. Nice location; he could walk to the Metro, and to shopping. Good thing too, because today the insurance company tows "Dorothy Dodge" away for the last time. The little accident he had at Ocean City was just enough for them to write it off as a loss, but fortunately he's got a Toyota Tercel lined up. Good thing he's also got a job, in the coffee business.