King For A Day

Earl’s feet were sore and swollen this morning, but it’s the best he’s felt in a long time.

“I almost forgot what it’s like to be alive,” he explains. “It’s the feeling I got as a kid when I’d play ball all day. And then I fought for civil rights and sometimes we would march all day. It wasn’t easy, but it felt good because we were going somewhere.”

Things changed.

“I just got old,” Earl says. “There’s a certain comfort that comes with age, but even an old man can’t get too comfortable.”

Dr. Martin Luther King gave him his edge back.

“I’ve been reading a lot of his speeches lately,” Earl says. “I always do in the weeks before the holiday, but this was different. Maybe it’s because I feel like his dream is slipping away.”

So he marched again.

“I felt like I needed to get out and talk to people,” Earl explains. “It hurts to think that we are losing ground because too many people gave up too much to let that happen. I met with different groups of kids and told them that they need to pick this up and carry on.

“There’s still so much injustice in the world,” Earl continues. “It’s not going away by itself and it’s not something you can fix with just one day a year.”

This could be a new beginning.

Earl smiles:

“I sure hope so.”