Graduating, with marbles

Marisa O’Neil

Costa Mesa High School seniors went for all the marbles at their

graduation.

Thousands of well-wishers packed the Pacific Amphitheatre Thursday

to cheer on the class of 2004 in a ceremony filled with the requisite

pomp and circumstance. But in one last act of high school tomfoolery,

some students slipped marbles into Principal Fred Navarro’s hand as

he gave them a congratulatory handshake.

“Like they said in the ‘Peter Pan’ movie, I wondered where all my

marbles went,” Navarro said as he set a handful on the podium after

each graduate had passed him.

Vanessa Arnold, 17, said about 40 students slipped a marble to

Navarro as a friendly last prank.

“He dropped my marble,” 17-year-old Kara Jenkins said.

Friends and family showed boisterous support for the more than 400

graduates in the large outdoor theater. Giant bunches of balloons

decorated the railings, and members of the audience jockeyed for the

best spot to get the perfect picture of the stage.

Outside, freshman Sarah Grabarsky got into the act, selling

T-shirts bearing a depiction of a green sign stating: “Exit 04

Seniors Only.”

While most people brought balloons or flowers, Carol Chon baked a

cake for graduate Jean You. Actually, Chon admitted, she baked it for

another friend’s birthday but forgot to get flowers for Jean You and

brought the cake instead.

Christopher Manning, 17, had a family contingent, including his

two aunts. They gushed with excitement, as they talked about their

nephew.

“We’re so proud of him,” aunt Tamara Williams said.

Another proud aunt cheered with excitement and waved her arms at

her nephew, David Randel, each time she spotted him on the stage.

Sylvia Crawford drove down from Los Angeles to see the graduation.

“He’s so handsome!” she said after David flashed a wide smile.

Each student got loud cheers from a contingent of supporters. Some

graduates begged for more as they crossed the stage, waving their

hands in the air, eliciting more cheers.

Many of the student speakers spoke of their “Mustang Pride,” for

the school and their classmates. Football player Marc Daniels started

out his speech with a hearty cheer of: “It’s a great day to be a

Mustang!”

He concluded by singing “Lean on Me.”

“Thank you for being there for me,” he told his fellow seniors.

“I’ll always be there for you. And to that school across the street,

to [Costa] Mesa [High School], may the memories never fade.”