on this Holiday . . . . .

[I have been away from this blog endeavor for almost 3 months. Lots to say - not much time to sit down and write. On top of that I had some computer disease sneak in and destroy  the innermost workings of my HP laptop, my new HP laptop, and my IT angel has been working overtime to keep 1. my law practice alive, 2. all my accumulated documents and programs accessible, 3. in touch with all the activities I engage in. But, this Hoo is still in charge - I'm back, so let us proceed!]

Today is a holiday. Lots of folks, including my teacher-daughters, get the day off (with pay.) For the self-employed and many folks engaged in private enterprize, its another weekday on which it is hard to get things done. No USPS, no banks, no courthouses. There are several of these days during the year. The federal government makes a decision to call a day a holiday and it sets in motion the tipping of dominos from coast to coast, and states, local governments, businesses and private institutions either follow suit or get chastised for not doing so. Political correctness drive most to go along.

The significance of any holiday depends on one's point of view.

For instance, if you are Jewish or Hindu, the Christmas Holiday has a different meaning than it does to Christians. Independence Day means little to foreign nationals working in our country except a day off, just as Bastille Day is irrelevant to most Americans. 'Easters' week meant a lot to me and my fellow UVa students in the early 70's and it had NOTHING to do with the church. In Kentucky, Derby Day is, for many, a Holiday just as Opening Day for the Reds' season is in Cincinnati. The significance of Holidays depend entirely on one's perspective.

My perspective on Martin Luther King Day will be different than many others' perspectives. It has changed as my perspective changed. I grew up in Erlanger in in the 50s, went to school with several black students and became friends with most all of them. My parents had friends who were black. I never saw public facilities with separate colored entrances , restrooms , water fountains , etc. The all black schools in Elsmere and Covington had closed. I watched Wes Unseld and Butch Beard, and others, compete in Kentucky's annual 'Sweet 16' state basketball championship in Louisville. I saw the great UC teams of the 60's with Oscar Robertson, Tom Thacker, Rick Roberson and Jim Ard.  The race riots of the 60s were strange occurrences to me because my world was fairly integrated.  At the time, I didn't give Dr. King much thought as his effort was not relevant to my life, as I knew it. I now know that I was very naïve. My community fostered it.

For instance, when I arrived for my first football practice at the University of Virginia in August of 1970, the presence of several blacks on my team was expected and, frankly, ordinary. I had been playing football with blacks in good old Kentucky for years ! I learned some time later, actually years after the event, that Kent Merritt,  Stanley Land, John Rainey and Harrison Davis were the first black football players on scholarship at UVa. They were pioneers and heroes, and I was unaware.  If you saw the movie 'Remember the Titans' you will remember that it was based on TC Williams High in Northern Virginia in 1971, and that apparently was the attitude of that area at the time. My 'backwoods' upbringing in the hills of old Kentucky (as I was told a few times) was actually far more socially advanced.  Strange but true!
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 Strange but I When Martin Luther King Day first became a national holiday I saw little need for it and, in fact, resented the fact that another day was going to be wasted. Over time, however. my appreciation for the man and his day has grown. My opinion has changed. I have learned that life for many was not anything close to my upbringing in Northern Kentucky. Just miles away, across the river in the supposedly socially advanced culture of Cincinnati in southwest Ohio, conditions were horrible. I eventually saw, with my own eyes, slums. I grew to understand the importance of the civil rights movement, of the struggle for equality, of the sacrifices made by people like Fred Shuttlesworth, Andrew Young, Dr. King., etc.   Please read Dr. King's speeches and sermons – they are eloquent, impassioned, and persuasive.  They speak to me much more in 2012 than when first delivered. 

Some people choose to celebrate MLK day by participating or watching basketball games . Others choose leisure activities . I celebrate the day by working a little, resting a little, and reflecting on the progress of my community, my state and my country, or the lack thereof, in providing equal treatment and equal opportunity for all humans regardless of their skin color and beliefs. We are not perfect yet and, as a society made of human beings, never will be.

For another perspective on this holiday, I commend for your reading a book by James Patterson titled 'Alex Cross'  Trial'. Check that  book out and then give me your thoughts about the need for  and the legitimacy of Martin Luther King Day. I am sure there are many other books that you all can recommend to me . Perhaps we will all learn something – wouldn't that be great !

Keep fighting the good fight and striving for improvement in everything you do. I will. Happy New Year!