King's Dream Lives On

This is my friend John. I met him three years ago when the Colonel and I started volunteering for a local African-American museum. He will be turning 80 this week.

John is warm-hearted, kind, witty, well-read, generous, quick to smile and wise. His wisdom comes from his many years on this earth and from the challenges he overcame in his lifetime.

He has lived through the Jim Crow Law years of "separate but equal". Separate bathrooms, restaurants, public transportation and schools. There was segregation in the military as he served his country during the Korean War. (John was in the same Air Force squadron The Colonel would be commander of roughly 50 years later.)

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 abolished the Jim Crow Laws. Changed laws did not always equal changed minds as the history books have shown us.

John was a local civil rights leader. He fought for and became the first black mailman in this town and he started the first NAACP chapter here and was its president.

Some people might have become hardened by their experiences of racial injustice, especially in the south, but like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John does not judge people by the color of their skin, but on the content of their character and is a peaceful man.

The Colonel, Spud and I are invited to attend John's birthday party. We will be in attendance, as will a large majority of the people of this town...proof that John is well known and well loved by many different people.

I count myself blessed to have met John and number him as a friend.