I was born in Jacksonville, Fl. in 1954. In my youth, we lived in Jacksonville Beach and I can remember back as early as 5 years old. My family was always very close, devoted to God and would go out of their way to help any and everybody. "Was" in that last sentence should now be replaced with "still is". I am amazed to meet people who do not have any knowledge of their family history and possibly have no family members to share their lives with. Even though I now live in New England and my first family all still live in Florida, we're still close.
As I look back on growing up in the South and trying my best to remember racial conflicts that may have effected my life, I got nothing. Notta! In fact, I do remember my Dad driving from our house to the fishing village of Mayport to deliver what I remember to be a mattress for a family who did not have one, or maybe only had one and really needed another. This black family had a dirt floor in their house, but it was still their home. Can you imagine walking in your front door of your home at the end of your workday and stepping over a threshold that may have existed. Maybe there was not a threshold at all. I have racked my brain several times in my life to try to recreate that moment. I might have been somewhere between 5 and 8.
What I do remember with detail is the love my parents always instilled in me and my siblings towards everyone. The memories that stick in my mind from that day include the following events.
This mattress was one that we may have had on what seemed like a tall bed, perhaps only tall because of this mattress setting on top of the middle mattress and the box springs. It was carried outside of our house by Daddy and my brother, Sidney. I must have been to young to help, but I went along, because this seemed like a job for "the men folk". The truck we rode in was called "Number Nineteen". It was an old Chevy pick up truck which my Daddy bought from the City of Jax Beach after it was way too old for their use and it was replaced with a newer truck.
#19 was a long wheel base truck with a bed large enough to accommodate the mattress without a problem. There was no need to tie it down as it would lay flat on the bottom of the bed and we would never consider driving fast. Life was slower back then. Daddy never drove fast unless there was an electrical emergency within the utility company where he earned the money that all of our lives depended on.
There is a good chance that Sidney and I rode in the back of the truck on top of the mattress on this Saturday journey. Could you imagine loading your two sons into the back of a pick up truck and driving somewhere between 8 and 18 miles (depending on whether we lived in Jax Beach or Palm Valley, at that time)?
When we arrived at the house and proceeded to carry the mattress into the house, I remember Daddy telling us to brush our shoes off at the door. There was a door mat just outside of the door on a makeshift patio of wood from old pallets. We brushed off our shoes before entering a house with a dirt floor which belonged to this family in need of a mattress.
The cliche of Southerners typically being prejudice makes me feel uncomfortable for a moment, but then I feel more sorrow for the person who thinks this of Southerners. Seriously? Through all of the years and decades of slave trading in the "South", as they call it, more slaves were brought into this country by a man who lived in Bristol, Rhode Island. James De Wolf was a businessman in Bristol who claimed to be in the import/export business a long time ago, according to the documentary film, Traces of the Trade.
Just because he was the leading importer of Africans to America to be sold, traded and used by white families, doesn't make everyone in New England, Rhode Island or even Bristol, prejudice.
Back to my childhood...
I never met Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, I doubt anyone reading this has had the pleasure to meet this great man. If you have, please write to me, text me, call me or somehow share your story with me. I do remember when he was killed. I remember it very well, partially because of the impact he has made on Americans' lives and the subject of my journey, Freedom.
picture is owned by:
By the way, clicking on the above link will take you to a great site about MLK Day.
In 1989, I moved, with my immediate family to Atlanta, GA. to work on a large construction project in downtown for about 26 months. In that time, I made several side-trips on my way home from work or during lunch time to The King Center. I know I've not read all that is written on the walls and plaques in this fabulous memorial to the man, the family and the dream that is still being realized by so many people of the world.
I am still in awe at the impact MLK has made in my life. So many aspects of our daily lives are taken for granted.
Singer, Kris Kristofferson coined a wonderful line, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."
My conversations with people of all races, colors, creeds across America have exposed countless experiences of individuals who have, at one time of another, stopped to sort out their priorities in life. Perhaps, they have found a better way to live a more fruitful life or at least they have become aware of a freedom that has been missing in their lives and know these things can be changed. It is all up to them to initiate these changes. Have we become too complacent in our lives to make positive changes? I know...we have to define "positive change".
For me, positive change is defined as, "Anything I can do, or think to act upon, which will enrich the lives of others around me and/or make my own life more enjoyable."
The secret now is, how to recognize the potential changes and results we can make and how to prioritize everything we do on a daily basis to realize the results of our efforts.
Mozi on...
Hey Ken. Thanks for linking to us with regards to MLK day. We really appreciate it.
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