Seeds of Conviction: The Daniel Traficonte Story

NICK TSAKMAKLIS '08

Many have exclaimed that Dan Traficonte is the last of a dying breed. They have compared him to “a…embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food.”[1] One expert said that Dan’s life was the “most…example of society.” The Beaver Country Day School community has witnessed the extraordinary transformation of a man wanting to leave his mark on the world. To understand why he has been compared with something bearing such beautiful creation, one must first understand his history.

“[The seed] is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant.”[2] Immediately after his emergence into the bustling city of Watertown, his parents commented that “And thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought; and enterprises of great pith and moment, with this regard, their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action.”[3] They were, of course, referring to his older brother, the pride of Watertown High. Dan grew up in the shadow of his brother in the Watertown public school for the first thirteen years of his life until arriving at BCDS. Here, he prospered as a two sport athlete, student, and socialite. When asked, Daniel commented that his proudest achievements in high school included, “The fate of nations is intimately bound up with their powers of reproduction. All nations and all empires first felt decadence gnawing at them when their birth rate fell off.”[4]

Though Daniel has tasted the sweet nectar of life on multiple occasions, all good things must reach their conclusion. As Earnest Hemingway put it “For seeds that are going to be planted for gardens, the use of running water is best but frequent changes of water are effective too. Normally 12 to 24 hours of soaking is sufficient, longer soaking especially in stagnant water that is not changed can result in oxygen starvation and seed death.”[5] Enjoy the ride, Daniel, for just as Rome fell in 476 AD, one day your ticket will be called to the front of the deli register.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed
[3] Conversation overheard by Jesse Traficonte
[4] Benito Mussolini
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed