King for a Day

MLK day is a special day.

In the NBA.

MLK is not a special day.

Where I live.

I’m not talking about my house.

I’m talking about my city.

And no I don’t live in Arizona.

That’s a state.

I live in an area where Monday came.

And Monday went.

And nothing special happened.

I’m not really sure what was supposed to happen.

But nothing did.

At least nothing that put the special in this special day.

Thanks to google I did find a handful of events across the country which tried to pay tribute to Mr. King.

100,000 people came out for a march in San Antonio.

They were expecting 200,000.

82 people attended a rally in Thomson, Georgia.

83 if you count the speaker.

An ice rink in Cleveland offered free admission from Noon to 5.

I guess you had to pay full price the rest of the day.

While in Denver, the Martin Luther King Jr. African-American Rodeo of Champions came to town.

Whatever that is.

I’ve always considered myself a lover of history.

But I am far from a historian.

I was born in 1967.

So I missed all but one year of Martin Luther King’s life.

And unfortunately I don’t remember any of it.

But thanks to the internet, we can relive history.

Until SOPA kicks in.

If there is one moment that defines the life of Martin Luther King Jr., it has to be the speech.

The dream speech.

August 28, 1963.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

According to Wikipedia, the crowd was estimated at 200,000.

I’m sure more than a million said they were there.

Like you, I’ve seen clips of the speech hundreds of times.

But I don’t recall the last time I watched it all.

From start to finish.

So a few minutes ago I changed that.

At least I tried to.

The first link I clicked on got me nowhere.

“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by SME.”

Shame on you SME.

Whoever you are.

Thankfully youtube doesn’t play by the same rules.

Yet.

I expected the speech to be much longer.

But it wasn’t.

Just 16 minutes.

And 11 seconds.

King was introduced as “the moral leader of our nation.”

And throughout his speech he lived up to that billing.

Exceeded it.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Each sentence more meaningful than the one before.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.

From his first word to his last, you couldn’t help but connect with the passion in his voice.

The power in his words.

We've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

And the dreams that he had for this country.

This world.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

It was truly poetry in motion.

The message just as timely today as it was on that day.

Especially with so many people in this great country still hurting.

And hoping.

The speech took on a life of its own when King was assassinated less than five years later.

Unfortunately we seem to live in a world where your stock goes way up after your body temp goes way down.

Morrison.  Joplin.  Hendrix.  Dean.  Clemente.

Cobain.  Winehouse.

And whoever is next.

The legend seems to grow well after the artist is gone.

Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if Mr. King was still with us.

I hate to think that Martin Luther King Jr. became special on April 4, 1968.

The day he left us.

If Mr. King saw us today, I’m not sure he would recognize the world we live in.

There’s no question that we have made great strides.

But I’m not sure we will ever get there.

I’m not even sure where there is.

But for at least one of our 365 days every year.

We can dream.

Sweet Child O' Mine

Michael King.

One of the most important figures of our lifetime.

Well, you may know him as Martin.

Martin Luther King.

Jr.

In 1935, King’s father changed his name and his son’s name from Michael.

To Martin Luther.

In honor of the 16th Century German Protestant Reformer.

I learned this last week.

From my seven-year old daughter.

My seven-year old daughter who skipped first grade earlier this school year.

Yes, I probably should’ve known this about Mr. King before last week.

But they somehow forgot to teach us that information.

At my Hebrew Day School.

This morning she told me that the Statue of Liberty was modeled after the sculptor’s mother.

What kind of school is she going to?

What happened to extended recess?

My daughter is in a great time in her life.

Sure, she bickers with her older brother.

And sometimes with her older sister.

But at age 7, almost everything is perfect.

Oh to be seven again.

Tomorrow is a big day in her little life.

Maybe the biggest so far.

Maybe the biggest day of the 2,746 she has spent on this earth.

Tomorrow will begin like any other.

With a smile.

That’s how she begins every morning.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Sometime around Noon she’ll be on the steps of our State Capitol building.

Reading an essay.

An essay she wrote.

An essay voted the best in our state.

From anyone in her grade.

When I got the call a couple of weeks ago, you would’ve thought it was Ed McMahon on the phone.

With one of those giant checks.

I was so excited someone I had something to do with was so special.

Of course, I didn’t need the phone call to tell me that.

But it was a nice reminder.

This girl is truly something special.

And I am lucky enough to live it up close and personal every day.

She loves singing and soccer and school.

She even loves things that don’t begin with the letter S.

Like softball....

Um, swimming.

Let’s move on.

The point is, she loves life.

And I love watching her love life.

Sure, there are many days I’m home, wishing I wasn’t.

But there is never a day that I don’t want to be with her.

Or her brother.

Or her sister.

And that’s a gift Mr. McMahon couldn’t touch.

Now for most humans, including myself, a trip to the State Capitol would be the day’s headline.

But tomorrow, that’s just the beginning for her.

When we are done there, we are heading back to her school.

For the annual talent show.

As a second grader, she had to go through an audition process.

I’m guessing Simon Cowell wasn’t there.

But I know they didn’t let just anyone in.

My daughter has a lot of talents she could’ve brought to the table.

But she chose to sing.

And why not.

She’s been participating in a local choir for the last year.

But singing a song in English...

...that would’ve been too easy.

Instead, she chose a Spanish song.

Except she doesn’t speak Spanish.

But something attracted her to Cielito Lindo.

The legendary Mariachi song.

You know it.

Ay, ay, ay, ay,
Canta y no llores......

You know it.

Trust me.

And I know it too.

Well I knew it before the talent show.

But I  r e a l  l y  know it now.

She’s been singing it around the house non-stop for the last few weeks.

Who knew I had the words wrong all this time.

Let there be no doubt, I’m very proud of all of my kids.

That’s my job.

(My only job.)

And I truly celebrate every one of their accomplishments.

But there is something very special about tomorrow.

Now it shouldn’t come as any surprise that my kids are talented.

I won things too.

Um...

Like...

...In 12th grade.

In 12th grade I stuffed more marshmallows in my mouth than anyone else in high school.

34.

That’s a talent.

Right?