Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech

(Delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.)

...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. ...

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.  It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. ...

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.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day... little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers...

I have a dream that one day... the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope.  This is the faith that I go back to the South with. ...  With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.  With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together...  to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day...

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.  So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.  Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.  Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.  Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. ...

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of that old Negro spiritual, "Free at last!  Free at last!  Thank God almighty, we are free at last."

Rev. Martin Luther King

"Prancer--A Story... and More"

(Posted 1/3/12, but written many years ago...)

I'm fondly gazing at a pic of a photograph I took a couple of years ago. It appears to be nothing special--just a nice landspace shot.  The dull browns, grays and greens suggest it's early winter... a somber, blue-gray sky... looking down a gentle hill thru leafless trees, past an ugly street lamp... some scattered hedges at the bottom... beyond, a sandbox with a mother and her small boy... here and there a picnic table or a swing set.  A nice park perhaps?

Actually, it's from a series of photographs of the City Park in Hagerstown, Maryland, where I grew up.  The hill is steeper than it appears--a drawback of photography.  And when I was a small boy, there was an entire "hedge garden" of which there are now only those remnants.

And as with each of those photographs, there is a story.

Some of you know a little about Prancer, for whom my screen name is an honorific.  She was a Toy Manchester dog, given to my brother and me by Mom shortly after Dad's death at my age 6.  She lived until I was in college.  Seven pounds of love and motion.  A magnificent pet, who I loved immensely.

I was Prancer's main "walker."  (My brother suffered from polio when young, and really couldn't keep up with her for very long.)  I don't think it was until after puberty that I could actually run faster than Prancer.  Those little legs sure could churn FAST!  LOL

And one of my favorite places to take Prancer on a "walk" was the City Park.  Thus the hill and the story, the photograph and pic, and now, this--to try to capture a memory that is still so vivid after all these years.

Ed. Note: I moved back to Hagerstown a few years ago, to be back home after so many years away. A couple of years ago, I moved to just a short piece from the house in which I was raised.  Now I'm a brief walk away from the City Park.  So I (and sometimes Pamela) walk by that hill regularly. And after all these years, I still always stop there... and pause a few moments to remember... 

This Cracked Me Up...

Maybe it's a Guy Thing,  but this video cracked me up...

Mother of all Hot Wheels Tracks

"Merry Christmas from Hagerstown"

(Written 12/24/11 by ChristopherK2)

This is a mediocre pic of part of the Christmas lights display at the Hagerstown City Park.  I tried to take one earlier this evening, but forgot my tripod.  I'll try to get another one soon. 

Til then, a very Merry Christmas to all...

"The Top 10 NEW Redskins Team Activities..."

My Redskins are having a horrible year which (hopefully) reached its nadir yesterday with the reported upcoming suspensions by the NFL for the rest of the year of two of the Redskins best players, for use of a "recreational drug."  So, to make some light out of a dreadful situation...

 

The Top 10 NEW Redskins Team Activities...

10. Passing doobies around in the huddles.                                                  

9.  Going to the Reflecting Pool and watching all the pretty lights.  

8.  Trying to break the All-NFL team record for chowing down Double Stuf Oreos in 10 minutes.

7.  Watching the original "Star Wars" on a rookie's 108" movie screen from the front row.

6.  Dancing to the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" when it's played on the stadium sound system between quarters. 

5.  Ben & Jerry's taste-testing parties.

4.  Doing bong hits while searching YouTube for new Stoner videos. 

3.  Hoovering the Munchies table after Bad Rex throws another interception, fumbles again, gets called for intentional grounding, etc.

2.  Giggling hysterically at Coach Shanahan's Yo' Momma jokes. 

And the Number 1 New Redskins Team Activity is...

1. Trying to get to the end of this list without getting distracted.