MLK & Me

When I was very young, I would often go with my family to Love Field airport in Dallas to drop off or pick up visiting relatives. My father seemed to have a knack for spotting old friends or famous people in the crowds and sometimes we'd have an opportunity to meet someone special.

I remember once we were introduced to a very nice black man. I guess it stuck in my mind (I think I was 3 years old) because we didn't encounter many black people in my white neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. But I remember how my father spoke with such respect as he introduced us. Clearly, this man was somebody special and I was told I would remember meeting him. And I did.

I was much older before all the blanks in my child-like memory were filled in and I realized that that man was Martin Luther King, Jr. He was on his way to a meeting of the Atlanta Pastor's Conference, and my parents told him about my grandfather who would also be there. We later heard that my grandfather did meet him there and when Dr. King heard his name he said, "Oh, I just met your three beautiful grandchildren in Dallas!"

I remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and he remembered me.



*Author's note -- please take a moment to read the comment left by "TheVaryIdea". That's my dad, telling the rest of the story.