Something Big

I have always had a dream of being part of something big. Really, Really big. So the time has come.
When I was about 8 or 9 I lived in the segregated south. I lived in a very small town with even smaller minds.
However I was blessed to live in a home that believed "All Men are Created Equal".
My Dad would weep at the inhumane treatment he often saw. He often reiterated to us, (the children) that we would NOT be mean or rude to someone because of the color of their skin.
We, did not attend school with blacks as our small town moved the colored families out of town to avoid integration. This happened during the uprising at Central High school in Little Rock.
My Dad came home and was visibly distraught as the local townspeople were going to hang our superintendent if he allowed anyone colored to cross the school threshold.
The schools were told they had to integrate, Instead of busing students out of town.
A lot of children came to Sheridan schools from different towns to avoid going to integrated schools.
It was a sad time in history. I was just a child, I could do nothing but watch and listen. Listen I did, very intently.
I was just a child that saw the colored and white water fountains, I saw the colored restrooms and white restrooms, I saw the counters that had no bar stools, No bar stools to keep blacks from setting down at the counter. I crossed a picket line in Pine Bluff Arkansas to shop with my parents. The picket was to protest the serving of blacks at the food counter.
My Dad marched us across that line with lots of angry men yelling at him for taking his family into such a place.
My Mom was heard to say, "I thought Lloyd, (my Dad) was going to get us all killed, those men were mad." My Dad had no fear of men. He feared the wrath of God more. He knew right from wrong and this was wrong.
In August 1963 I was married when MLK gave his famous speech. I was not aware of the events surrounding our southern towns. All I heard was the local chatter.
I have often wished I had marched on Selma and Montgomery with the rest of the Civil Rights movement.
I often wish I could do more to show my deep feelings about the injustice in this world.
So today I watched in horror as the media showed the beatings and deaths associated with human rights. All they wanted to do was vote.
I recall in Sheridan, My MOM had to pay a poll tax to vote. The poll tax was initiated to keep the poor blacks from voting. My Mom was a poor white woman who also could not afford to pay the fees to vote.
So as you may guess, the votes were mostly placed by the local businessmen and they ran the town. Again Small town with a small mind.
Today I watched in tears as the media replayed the entire speech I had missed 45 years ago. The speech in its entirety is something we should all strive for, A unity this country has never seen.
Am I an Obama supporter? YES I AM, I support whoever is in office, I pray for guidance for their decisions. I pray God gets control of our country once again.
Sept 11, 2001, was a day of awakening for America. We all stood together and prayed and the legislature stood on the steps and sang. What a moving experience that was.
But where are we today? Does anyone recall the unity we felt that day, week or month or months to follow. It slowly drifted into our past.

So have I been a part of something big? Yes I have!! Tomorrow I will see something I assumed would never happen in my lifetime.
Today I am in awe of our nation and our perseverance.
Today I am proud to be an American, Where a dream can come true. Where a man is being judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.

Something big!! Yes and I will be a part of it.
In my lifetime I have seen segregation, integration, Ungodly actions committed against fellow Americans, and remorse for those actions.
What is an American,
One who was blessed to be born in this country.
A person willing to lay down his life for his county,
A person willing to shake hands and walk beside the poor, the downcast, the red, yellow, black and white.
One who genuinely cares for all people surrounding him in this big, small world.
A person that knows anything is possible with perseverance.
That is an American.
So Tomorrow January 20, 2009 and since November I have been part, and will be a part of something Big.
Something I never thought I would see in my lifetime.
Your Children can tell their children they saw this, Be sure to have them watch this historical moment.
This is as historical as George Washington being sworn in. A time to never be relived again.
As you watch, be sure to pray for this family and our future, The future of your children and grandchildren.