Pat Conroy gave the 2001 commencement speech atThe Citadel,something he once thought Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein or feminist actress Jane Fonda had a better shot at.
UPDATE: Pat Conroys funeral arrangements announced; services open to the public
PAST: A year before he died, Pat Conroy opened a gym..Pat Conroy dies at 70 ..Conroy revealed cancer diagnosis and said I intend to fight
AP photo
Conroy, who died Friday at 70 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, was estranged from his alma mater for decades over Lords of Discipline, the novel set in a brutal military academy. Many in The Citadel community took issue with the jarring depiction of the school.
The school and writer reconciled, though, and Conroy was invited to speak at commencement in 2001. His speech was as unflinching as his novel had been.
Class of 2001, listen up. I dont have much time, he said. They dont give you much time for graduation speeches. Because of various aspects of my character and fate, I did not get to address the corps of cadets in the last century.There were many years when I thought that Saddam Hussein or Jane Fonda had a better chance of addressing this class than I did.
He then took a graceful turn in citing the first line of his controversial book.
In 1979, the year most of yall were born, I was finishing up The Lords of Discipline, and I tried to think of a line or words that would sum up better than anything how I felt and how other people feel about this college. I wanted it to be something ringing and affirmative, something true, something that would be true for every person whos every gone through the Long Gray Line. I came up with this line: I wear the ring. I think it is the best line I have ever written and the best English sentence I am capable of writing.
Toward the end, he issues a very touching invitation to the cadets in the audience that day: He said he wanted them all to attend his funeral.
Mother"s Day 2016 When did Mothering Sunday begin?
The day has long been associated with mothers, and family. For centuries it was custom for people to return home to their mother church on Laetare Sunday the middle of Lent. Those who did so were said to have gone a-mothering.
The day often turned into a family reunion and a chance for children working away from home often domestic servants - to spend time with their mothers.
Many used to pick flowers from the verges along the way to leave in the church or hand to their mothers when they got home.
But it was American social activist Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) from Philadelphia who campaigned for an official day to honour mothers in the US and is regarded as the "Mother of Mother"s Day".
She dedicated her life to lobbying for the day after swearing she would do so after her mother"s death.
However, Jarvis became increasingly concerned at the commercialisation of the day, saying "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." She also didn"t like the selling of flowers and the use of greetings cards which she described as "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write".
In May 1932, Mothers Day was adopted in Japan, after 19 years of observance by Christians, showing the wide reach of Jarvis and the embracement of Mothers Day internationally.
Meanwhile in Britain, vicar"s daughter Constance Smith was inspired by a 1913 newspaper report of Jarvis" campaign and began a push for the day to be officially marked in England.
Smith, of Coddington, Nottinghamshire, founded the Mothering Sunday Movement and even wrote a booklet The Revival of Mothering Sunday in 1920. Neither Smith nor Jarvis became mothers themselves.
By 1938 Mothering Sunday had become a popular celebration with Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and various parishes across Britain marking the day and communities adopting the imported traditions of American and Canadian soldiers during the war.
By the 1950s it was being celebrated throughout Britain and businesses realised the commercial opportunities.
Is it Mothering Sunday or Mothers Day?
Mothering Sunday is on March 6th in the UK - it always falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This isn"t the case in other countries, though...
When you say "Mothers Day" you are actually referring to the American version. In the US it falls on Sunday May 8th, ever since President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it so in 1914.
Many blame the USA for introducing the name Mothers Day to Britain and turning it into a commercial affair.
The French celebrate the event on a different day altogether - "Maman"s" special day is reserved for the last Sunday in the month of May.
A family dinner is the norm, and traditionally the mother being honoured is presented with a cake that looks like a bouquet of flowers.
Mothers Day in Spain is celebrated on December 8th. Spaniards pay tribute not only to their own mothers on this day, but also to the Virgin Mary. The day includes religious celebrations across the country.
The worst film to see on mother"s day
It"s a horror film about two boys who welcome their mother home after her reconstructive surgery and it all goes wrong in a terribly scary way.
Mothers Day traditions
Simnel cakes are associated with Mothers Day. During Lent, people did not eat sweet foods, rich foods or meat.
However, the fast was lifted slightly on Mothering Sunday and many people prepared a Simnel cake to eat with their family on this day.
A Simnel cake is a light fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan and with a layer of marzipan baked into the middle of the cake.
Traditionally, Simnel cakes are decorated with 11 or 12 b***s of marzipan, representing the 11 disciples and, sometimes, Jesus Christ.
One legend says that the cake was named after Lambert Simnel who worked in the kitchens of Henry VII of England sometime around the year 1500.
Stuck for something to write in your Mother"s Day card?
Mums still prefer a card to a post on Facebook so hopefully you"ve made the effort.
If you"re on your way over to mum"s house and you need some inspiration, here are seven poems to slip inside your Mother"s Day card (and one to avoid).
When the 168-pound frame of UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor rolled over under the mounted barrage of Nate Diaz in the second round of their UFC 196 main event fight, and tapped out to a rear-n***d choke, one man celebrated above all others.
HIGHLIGHTS! WATCH DIAZ SMOKE, CHOKE MCGREGOR
Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo, recentlyhumiliated by a 13 second knockout at UFC 194 in December, immediately posted a taunt on Twitter:
An hour and a half later when thepost-fight press conference finally started, a reporter asked McGregor if he had a response to the tweet, as the Irishman had made a veiled reference about certain featherweight fighters "celebrating his loss."
The "Notorious" one, despite licking his wounds and giving credit to Diaz for the victory, was resolute in his disdain for Aldo:
"I just think it"s... he had an opportunity to show up here. And he didn"t. He could be sitting there... he could be sitting where Nate"s (Diaz) sitting right now. He was the first choice. He said, "anytime, any place, anywhere" and then he wasn"t anytime, any place, anywhere. Now another man gets a victory over me and he (Aldo) celebrates it. That"s the sign of a loser. That"s the sign of somebody... that"s the sign of a runner-up, you know? That"s not the sign of a champion so..."
As for whether that fight happens atUFC 200 or not, McGregor wouldn"t say. He did indicate he has no desire to take a break, despite admitting the loss is a "tough pill to swallow", and would be looking to drop back down to featherweight to defend his belt next.
"I haven"t stopped in a long time, it"s been a crazy couple of years. I"ve only really busted onto the scene and climbed all the way. But I"m still really enjoying it. I"m not tired of it. Now going back down to the featherweight division I would imagine would be what is next.I don"t know. I still feel UFC 200 is there for me."
UFC president Dana White agreed.
"I think that"s what makes sense, you know what I mean? Tonight was one of those nights... this was a fight. This was what this thing was built to be. This is what it was, you know, everything that we talked about and it lived up to everything that it was supposed to be. It was awesome."
McGregor said he does believe Aldo deserves a rematch but said the Brazilian pulls out of fights a lot, and Frankie Edgar is more reliable. Ultimately he said it will likely depend on who the fans want to see the most.
But despite those words, that doesn"t mean McGregor is done with his plans at 155 or even 170 pounds for good.
"I weighed in at 168 pounds. I didn"t make anything, I simply ate regularly so... 145 isn"t anything. It"s a cut, it"s intense but I make it and I make it every time so I think 145 will be next. I"ll defend my belt. I believe maybe Nate will fight (Rafael) dos Anjos now. I think after I defend my belt and climb myself back up I think I will get my shot at that lightweight belt once again so maybe me and Nate can do it again."
For continuous coverage of the entire UFC 196 card, including post-fight recaps and analysis, clickhere andhere.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images for InStyleBefore the Kardashian family had their own reality-TV show and fashion line, they were known for theirclose ties toO.J. Simpson and his slainex-wife, Nicole Brown.
Robert Kardashian, Kris Kardashian"s ex-husband and the father of Kourteny, Kim, Khlo, and Rob, was close friends with Simpsonwhen he was arrested and tried for the murder of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.
Robert Kardashian, who died in 2003, was an attorney and served on Simpson"s legal team during his 1995 murder trial.
Kim was13years oldand living with her father when Simpson moved in for a time and stayed in Khloe"s room after the killings in Los Angeles in 1994. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Kim said the experience wasbizarre.
"It was surreal, with Johnnie Cochran and Robert Shapiro and all these guys having meetings at my dad"s house," Kim said. "I definitely took my dad"s side [believing in O.J. Simpson"s innocence]. We just always thought my dad was the smartest person in the world, and he really believed in his friend."
As she"s gotten older, she said, "It"s weird. I just try not to think about it."
Khlo opened up about the experience during an episode of her show, "Kocktails with Khlo," onWednesday.
My sisters [Kourtney and Kim], who are older than me, they would be in the courtroom with my dad all the time, she said. They have more information, but even if I would get pulled over the cops hated us "cause my dad was defending O.J. Simpson.
The sister revealed the family had bad experiences with the community in LA at the time.
[Our] cars [would] get keyed, like, with guilty all over it," she said. "People would not allow us to eat at their establishments ... But cops hated us. Like if they would run our plates, we would get pulled over for anything and everything.
Ryan Murphy"s new FX show, "American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson," focuses on the murder trial and features David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian. Actors portraying the Kardashian children have appeared in a few episodes.
In one particular episode, Robert begs Simpson not tokill himself in "Kimmy"s bedroom."
According to an interview Robert did with Barbara Walters in 1996, this confrontation did occur, though Kim wasn"t in the house at the time. The interview resurfaced during a 2014 interview Kris didon "The View."
Part 3 of the Fox News GOP presidential debate in Detroit
The Kentucky Republican Caucus on Saturday has been largely funded by Sen. Rand Paul who convinced the state party to switch from a primary format to get around a state law prohibiting someone from appearing on the ballot in multiple federal races.
Paul was seeking a second Senate term and running as a 2016 GOP presidential candidate until he suspended his campaign last month.
He tweeted a couple of photos of himself at his caucus site. A Paul spokesman says the senator will not say for whom he has cast a ballot and noted he has yet to endorse a candidate since dropping out after the Iowa GOP Caucus in early February.
In the meantime, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump sent the following two tweets Saturday morning:
Why would anyone in Kentucky listen to failed presidential candidate Rand Paul re: caucus. Made a fool of himself (1%.). KY his 2nd choice!
The other reads: To the people of Kentucky, Rand Paul didn"t want you. Not (sic) he runs back due to his presidential failure. #VoteTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain
Transcript for OJ Simpson Frenzy Back in Full Force After Surprising Discovery
We move on to new questions in the murder case that captivated a nation, Los Angeles police confirming they are examining a knife found buried on O.J. Simpson"s former estate. But even if it turns out not to be the missing murder weapon, as ABC"s Matt Gutman reports tonight, the O.J. Frenzy is back in full force. Reporter: Sometimes a knife is just a knife. Tonight, law enforcement sources telling ABC news the mud-encrusted folding knife -- held by a LAPD officer for nearly two decades -- is likely not connected to the O.J. Simpson case. Still, police say they"ll continue with DNA testing on the knife. We will look at anything that we believe has any validity to either assure people that this investigation was done appropriately. Reporter: The blade, investigators believe, is too small to have savagely butchered Nicole brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994. A lawyer for George maycott, tells ABC news a construction worker handed his client the knife in 2002 or so when he was working security on a movie nearby. Maycott allegedly alerted the LAPD about the knife, but was told the case is closed. It wasn"t. This is a double homicide that it is still open and ongoing. Reporter: The murder weapon has never been found. Police scouring the neighborhood in 1994. We did a search from the Rockingham home to the Bundy home with 150 people. We searched all the streets, the gutters, the trash, the lawns. Reporter: So, the case remains in limbo. On one side, it remains open. On the other investigators tell me, they arrested the only plausible suspect back in 1994 -- O.J. Simpson and they can"t charge him because of double jeopardy. Is Cecilia.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
