Martin Luther King Jr.'s Amazing Speech

"I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew our of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. 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 go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

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!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. 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 the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

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School Anyway

We will not skip school today. Christmas break was a bit long with the boys home from college.
Instead I think I will have Emma read Dr. King's speech outloud to me as a part of history. Quite a bit off the schedule (we are studying ancients) but it is a wonderful, important speech.

I can not read it outloud. I am sure I would start crying.

This is a common occurrence around here. I can not finish reading Where the Red Fern Grows or The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, either. My throat gets tight and the tears well up and I hand the book over to one of the kids and say, "Here, you finish reading."

Last weekend I was watching the National Woman's Ice Skating Championship on tv...Sasha Cohn had skated beautifully but she fell leaving a big opening for Michelle Kwan. Well Michelle (who was considered a bit of an underdog) came out and skated perfectly, exuberantly, brilliantly. It was thrilling! I broke out in tears for her.

Bwahhaaaa....

Seeing this my daughter says. "You're crying about this!!!"

Choke, sniff, "I am so happy for her...Don't make fun of me."

In rush my husband and son to see what all the excitement is about.
I am an embarrassed, sentimental, spectacle.

Ugh!!! I can't help it.

(You understand, don't you, Sue?)






What a great champion!

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Here is a fun question to ask around the dinner table...
If you could do one thing, and not fail, what would it be?

Encourage one another,
Donna