This post is from Bill Hydrick. He sent it out originally to the LA Gamma brothers, but gave me permission to put it up here. The chapters in New Orleans have been thoroughly challenged this year. It is reassuring to see that they are carrying on the best that they can.
My Brothers,Greetings to you as we celebrate the founding of our great fraternity. In the year that has passed since our last Founder’s Day Celebration much has transpired. It has been a year of great joy and sorrow, of attainment and loss. A year that truly exemplified our journey of life that, as the ritual teaches us, we sometimes travel in the sunlit joy of accomplishment and sometimes in the darkness of strife and despair. Yet it is only in this dichotomy we find meaning. Life, it seems, is a convergence of contradiction; happiness seems almost defined by sorrow, achievement by failure. Our struggle to reconcile these competing circumstances defines us as men.
We do not know what tomorrow will bring. In early August, I rejoiced when our undergraduates returned from Conclave with that coveted Buchanan Cup only to see them dispersed by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. I watched as wind and water destroyed livelihoods and lives in our beloved New Orleans. I grieved as I listened to the stories of many brothers who lost businesses, jobs, and homes in the disaster. But my grief was tempered by the outpouring of care and concern I observed as call after call brother after brother pledged their support for those impacted by the devastation. The teachings of Sigma Phi Epsilon continued to burn bright even in this darkest of times.
Life and living have continued in New Orleans. Now some two months after the storm the streets, still littered with debris, carry traffic of residents as they go on about their existence. People have begun to return to the city and both Loyola and Tulane have started to populate their campuses with teachers and administrators rather than the hazmat attired reconstruction personnel who have long occupied the land like an invading army. However, life in New Orleans is not the same as it was in August and may never be again. Still, as Friedrich Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
New Orleans has a long way to go, this is certain, but I am confident it will return. The root of the name “Katrina” is a Greek word meaning pure or purification. By the time we gather for Louisiana Gamma’s silver anniversary in 2008, our city will be ready to welcome us all. In the meantime, I urge you to take today to consider Sigma Phi Epsilon, our hallowed brotherhood, and what it means to you. Take a moment to call a brother or write a letter, or type an email to keep your bonds strong. Raise a glass in honor of our shared commitment to virtue, diligence, and brotherly love. Continue to live daily in the radiance of our friendship so the light of Sigma Phi Epsilon may shine forever.
Happy Founders’ Day!
Sammy
I hope everyone paid proper homage to our founders and their deeds on this day.
PS: If you want to know why Bill signs off that way you will have to ask him.
