Candles in the Wind

By Paul D. Houston

Shortly before last Christmas, I attended my daughter's midwinter concert, which was held in the chapel of Princeton University. The Gothic cathedral, with its stained-glass windows, vaulted ceiling, and cavernous acoustics, is an inspiring setting for such an event. The students of Princeton High are lucky to have such a place for their concert.

The robed choir entered from the rear, marching down the center aisle, between the rows of well-dressed parents, each member holding a flickering candle while singing a work by one of the great classical composers. The entire concert consisted of one classical piece after another, sung in the original language of German, French, or Italian. The concert ended with Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," a celebration of birth and possibility.

These children have had the best of what money can buy. In our society, a great childhood inevitably leads to the possibility of a successful adulthood. My daughter and her classmates were on their way to marching through life with the pomp and circumstance...