Historic Times...

We have witnessed a remarkable moment in the history of this great nation. Let's unite in support of our newly-elected President and offer him our prayers.

The events of the past few months have caused me to reflect on the path that the country has taken within the brief instant of my lifetime.  In 1960 I hitchhiked from Corpus Christi, Texas, to upstate New York.  I purposely took a route across the deep south to witness a culture that I had never seen.  I saw segregated drinking fountains and rest rooms, signs on businesses that read, "No Negroes," and was shocked at some of the rural poverty that I saw.  That experience made a deep impression on me.

In the 1970s, I was living and working in southern Mississippi.  By now, the civil rights act and the voting rights act had brought about enormous change.  Nonetheless, when I invited a black friend to move in with me after he had gone through a difficult divorce, my neighbors let me know they were outraged that I would invite a person of color to live in their "safe" neighborhood.

In the 1980s, I befriended a gentleman who lived in Indianola, Mississippi, in the heart of the delta.  During several visits to his home, I concluded that the Mississippi delta hadn't gotten the word yet on equal rights.  It hearkened back to what I had witnessed in my 1960 pilgrimage across the south.

And yet here we are, a nation that has overwhelmingly elected a black man to its Presidency.  Something of enormous significance has taken place.  I don't understand it, but I welcome it.  This marvelous republic never ceases to amaze me with its resilience and ability to reinvent itself.  I love this land and its people!  God bless the U.S.A.!!!