The Red Line, MLK, and Wind that puts Chicago to Shame

"King's nonviolence is the best advertisement we have for U.S. democracy." -Taylor Branch, NYT 1/16/05

According to the New York times editorial section, which I read on the train back to Worcester from Boston this afternoon, today is Martin Luther King day. I felt a bit ashamed that I had all but forgotten why we got a school holiday today. Anyway, it reminded me of a wintry January day four years ago (!!) when I was chosen to commemorate Dr. King's birthday by speaking to a crowd of 2000+ people in a parade of student leaders. My parents drove all the way to East Lansing to watch me speak for literally 90 seconds, each instant of which was immortalized on video tape and streaked with tears of parental joy. The huge crowd was nerve-wrecking--rare for someone who is typically unphased by public speaking--but well worth the Boca burger at Bennigan's afterward.

The Times article was a thoughtful reflection on MLK's commitment to non-violence, providing a timely suggestion that the US sustain and internationalize this ideology in its actions abroad. It was well-written, but to me the message was so self-evident that it scarcely needed four columns on the editorial page. I guess I forget my own lofty idealism sometimes. Taylor writes, "we could also restore Dr. King's role in the continuing story of freedom to its rightful prominence, emphasizing that the best way to safegaurd democracy is to practice it...if dungeons, brute force and arbitrary rule were the keys to real power, Saudia Arabia would be a model for the future instead of the past."

On a less political note, I must say that I have fallen passionately in love with Massachusetts public transportation (hence the map of "The T" above). Being a daughter of Motown, where the oil flows like a river and the "Holy Trinity" refers to Chrysler-Ford-GM, I'm pretty unaccustomed to catching trains and riding subways. These days I look forward to the stress-free blocks of quiet reading and reflection time that catchin' the #23 bus from city hall provides me. I even chose to walk in the -10 degree weather from the Worcester train station to the bus stop to catch a 1.00 ride home vs. a 9.00 taxi. It was much more fun than trying to wave down a stinky cab. God, now if I could just learn which way down Main Street I live...I always almost end up on the wrong bus...

Finally, I had planned on giving you an acrid diatribe about the bitter iciness of New England cold, but I'll spare that for another day. I am not readjusting well after living a year in the subtropics...

Well, I best get some sleep before another long semester of hard work (ha) begins. I shall ring in the new semester by eating some of the "chocolatey cat cookies" I bought from Trader Joe's...

meow-meow-mow,

TKP