1:15 pm ... Martin Luther King Jr Day ... sometimes mondays, simply a moment and a national holiday coincide.
The day is quiet, to be expected for a holiday. We've also been quiet, partially because it is cold, still...and we're almost at today's high of 32 degrees...
Today's S*A*M (my shorthand for simply a moment ) has especial significance for it is also the 89th birthday of and 32nd national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And, sadly to say, this April 4, we shall remember the awful day that Dr. King was assassinated - 60 years ago. My memory is very sharp: I was living in Detroit at the time, in a rowhouse. My neighbors were arguing - I could hear them through the wall... Suddenly, quiet ...and then, my phone rang. My neighbor, calling to see if I'd heard the news that Dr. King had been shot? Incredulous, I turned on the TV to get the latest update and was stunned to learn he had died. T'was indeed a dark day for this nation, the world.
Riots ensued across the country; Detroit was particularly volatile. For several days, the sky was a vivid orange as buildings burned. Eventually calm, order, quiet were restored...but nothing would ever erase those moments.
I am in my craft room, remembering that time as I shuffle and organize pieces of paper, hoping the physical activity will transfer over to my brain and take root there...I am thinking that these days, we desperately need the hope and vision Dr. King gave us...and that I/we must not despair but press on.
The time is always right to do what is right. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
PS. Seldom for simply a moment am I actually at the computer at the time of the day on the date...I looked back to see when I first began this monthly creation: 12 september 2012.