1. I think I am thrilled with the wonderful response you gave my mom's story. I know she's overwhelmed by all of your thoughtful comments, as am I. I loved her sunglasses too! My mom has always had great style! I don't know if any of you happened to catch her comment on yesterday's post, but she said that she realized as she was writing everything down and looking at the pictures that she had essentially the same outfit on. Now that's pretty awesome-sauce.

2. I think I spoke too soon when I said that I was scooting through August relatively migraine-free. Three this week. The fact that it's been the hottest, muggiest week of the summer (not to mention our most hectic) is not lost on me. Maybe I am ready for September.

3. I think that we're definitely so-far so-good on school this week. Callum seems really happy. We had an athletics orientation on Wednesday night, and the director of the Middle School talked about the teacher/coach concept that they model at Cal's school. We've heard this spiel before but it never fails to impact me. As the director said, a coach cares about nothing more than making you better at what you do. He also talked about how when coaches coach, part of what they do is to put their hands on kids and physically move them in space. The example he gave was to teach someone new to football the three point stance. You have to guide their bodies. He talked about the Dance Master and how he shifted a girl's foot a fraction and suddenly the lines of her body were stunningly beautiful. There's an intimacy and closeness that develops there that can not be overstated. I know already the difference it's made in my son.

4. I think my mom might have been onto something when she mentioned that my summer funk might be the leadup to a creative breakthrough. I'm hoping so at least. I have some photography projects brewing that I'm looking forward to sharing with you really soon. Next week is out; Cal's birthday is coming up. But soon. Really soon. Bet you can't wait. (wink)

5. I think I have a little more I want to say about the anniversary of the March. Did you happen to hear any of the ceremonies this Wednesday? They were so moving! I was struck by so many little things. MLK's daughter, the one who was 5 months old during that speech, was such an amazing speaker. Bernice King. Let Freedom Ring, she said over and over. Right up to the ringing of that bell from the church in Birmingham. It was a call to action. When you hear the sound of the bell...let freedom ring.

And I have to say, I loved President Obama's emphasis on the marchers, then and now. I mean, of course I did. He was talking about my mom, but he was talking about all of us who try to do even a little more to expand the rights for others. Still, I was most struck by a phrase used by former President Clinton. He said, America is becoming. I love that. Becoming as a verb. I think of all of us, as a nation, with still a long way to go. Becoming. I think of myself, entrenched in a particularly tough patch both in my heart and as a parent. Becoming. Callum is becoming. I'm becoming. We're all becoming.

*My mom and her minister Pope standing together at the March.*

To read Part One of my mom's story, please go to yesterday's post on Still + Life.

It was very exciting when we got to the Washington Monument. We picked up signs and banners and everybody started walking toward the Lincoln Memorial. The March itself was very moving. Many of us joined arms or hands and sang “Freedom, Freedom” or “We Shall Overcome.” I think I began to get an idea what a big deal this was... all these people who didn’t know each other but were united in this cause and committed to doing something brave for it. And on a personal level it was clear that people were committed to being nice to each other. It always fascinates and reassures me that what one chooses to do on a personal level can have such an enormous impact on a much broader scale. Anyway, I never saw anything that resembled hostility or even testiness the entire time we were there, or on the whole trip for that matter. That in itself kind of tells the story of the event.

Here’s the disappointing part, at least as far as a good story is concerned. As I said, when we got to the Lincoln Memorial we found it impossible to see or hear anything. Well, I take that back. We could hear some of the speakers but not well. We heard Mahalia Jackson and we heard the applause and cheers for the speeches...especially MLK’s. If you look at that picture on Wikipedia looking out from the Lincoln Memorial there are trees lining the left side of the mall. We were behind those trees, about a quarter of the way back. At the time we weren’t really disappointed. We were happy to be there and felt very much a part of something profound. We were actually lucky about the trees because it was HOT. There was a special on CNN on Sunday night and on it one woman mentioned the heat, saying it had to be the hottest day of the year. There were sandwiches and drinks for the crowd along the March so it was kind of like a picnic at times.

The churches in the surrounding area were opened up so we could use the bathrooms and wash up at the end of the day. After we washed up and ate a bite (more sandwiches at the churches) we got back on the buses and rode all night and all day and arrived in Carbondale the next evening. The mood on the bus going back was pretty joyful with lots of singing until most of us fell asleep. We were exhausted, of course. I’m sure there was relief as well as pride in how well everything went. And more hope.

It wasn’t until after the whole thing was over that I heard and saw some of the speeches on TV. I could see then the same kind of uplifting experience I had felt at the march. As the years have gone by I’ve become even more impressed about what happened. Of course, no one at the time could have foreseen just how important the March was. It was a critical moment in the civil rights movement. Even though there was plenty of violence both before and after that event...(Medgar Evers, Birmingham bombing, assassinations, murders) I think the intention of non-violence and the spirit of peace among the demonstrators at the March had a profound impact on the civil rights movement and on how the people of America in general saw the movement. This was the moment that MLK had the audience he needed to get his message across to the nation.

I am proud I was there.

five things, august 30 edition

the dream lives, part 2 {still + life}