Martin Luther King, Jr

Monday, January 16, 2023

Do you know about Martin Luther King, Jr? I bet you know who he is, but do you know a lot about him? Your own opinion on what a lot is. I know some. I know enough, because no one is quizzing me and so no knowledge is actually required. I read a biography of his wife, Coretta Scott, last year, and of course picked up a bit more information about Dr. King. I think it is great that we have a day to honor him, but I think if we have a day to honor him, we should make an effort to know about the man. We don’t do anything at school to teach kids about him. I shouldn’t say that. I really hope he comes up in some social studies class somewhere, but I don’t know which class/when that happens. I know that in the past, in middle school, when I have asked right before or after MLKjr day about the man the kids have very little or no knowledge of him. How do we get a day off from school to celebrate something we don’t even teach our kids about? I think that is weird. (I guess since Wisconsin schools don’t have off, they are exempt from teaching about him. Mmmmm.) Anyway, he really was quite a guy. When I have read about his protests and what he did/accomplished, it is obviously with my 2023 eyes – I know what was successful and what was not. I know what was going to happen as I read about what he was doing. It is easy to think, “Yep. That was a good thing. Do it up, Martin. It’s going to work,” or even, “Good for you for trying, because you are taking the first steps in something that is going to take a LOT of steps…very slowly…” I don’t think I can really get how BRAVE he was and how far reaching his vision was. I was talking to Keith about it this morning, and he said MLKjr should have an action figure. I said he does. So does Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But they don’t really appeal to the kid market – you rarely see Batman v MLKjr smack downs going on at the playground. (And, really, should you? I think not.)

That is when I mentioned that I should have an action figure of me. With outfits. This also coincided with mentioning that I want my shoes back from my sister and that I feel very dumb for wanting them back. You see, I took my old(ish) shoes to Waukesha over New Year’s, in case I needed shoes instead of boots. I didn’t mean to pick up my old(ish) shoes, but they were recently replaced and were still just sitting in the mudroom. When I was packing up to come home, I said that they were my old shoes and Nancy could have them. They aren’t very old, but aren’t great for all day walking. Since my new shoes are better for all day walking, I figured why own two pairs of black tennis (not the right term, but that is what they were called when I was a kid and that is what I call them) shoes. Nancy tried them on and said they fit pretty well and she could certainly use them for gardening. She gardens a lot. I said great, better than them not being used or whatever. She said, (OUT LOUD, TO ME), “Couldn’t you use them for gardening?” I said, “No, no. I have gardening shoes.” Fact of the matter is, I seem to have forgotten what gardening is at that moment. Gardening? Like walking around and pruning hedgerows with a big clipper? Why does she think I do that? I have no hedgerows. Mmm. I will say I have gardening shoes because then she will not know I do not garden. We were about 30 miles down the road when I said, “HEY! I could have used those shoes when I am mowing the lawn.” Keith very cleverly said, “Yes. She said you could use them for gardening.” I didn’t tell him I hadn’t remembered what gardening is.

My lawn mowing shoes are from 2002. To be clear, they were removed from regular wearing in 2002 and have been lawn mowing shoes since. The entire bottoms are so smooth they are very, very slippery. There are holes in lots of places. They are not really very good as lawn mowing shoes, or as just shoes. SO, I was remembering about wanting my shoes back and that I didn’t want to ask for them back, because that didn’t seem very nice, and Keith suggested that I could just go there and sneak them back. Obviously, I responded with, “Like a Ninja?” He agreed. So, I would drive for 5 hours, use my key, get in, steal my shoes, and drive 5 hours back. Whoooosh. In. Out. Ninja-style.

So, since this conversation was happening simultaneously to my talking about Martin Luther King, Jr., and action figures, I knew right away that one of my action figure outfits would be a ninja outfit. (One time, Benjamin and I were driving home from the Plaza movie theater in St. Paul and in my rear-view mirror I saw ninjas crossing the road. I said out loud, “NINJAS!” Benjamin swiveled all around, but they had disappeared – obviously because they were ninjas. He suggested I turn around to hunt for them. And we did. We went up and down the street, searching for any signs of ninjas. Nothing. I have LITERALLY been on the lookout for ninjas ever since. Conveniently, we now travel that road to and from Alexander’s house, giving me more opportunities to see the ninjas again. {I think ninja is plural for ninja. I should change all those ninjas to ninja. You can pretend I did.}

Keith asked what my other outfits would be, and I did not hesitate: red sweatpants and a green sweater. It’s what I wear all the time, every day. The red sweatpants came from a Halloween costume when we were CareBears at school. They are the only sweatpants I have, so I wear them every day. The green cardigan is so old that I honestly cannot fathom it ever not being so ugly that it could have been worn as out-of-the-house wear. But it’s big and floppy and a cardigan and not-too-hot, but warm-enough, and therefore perfect. He suggested a pretty dress. I said yes. He suggested a sparkly dress. I said yes.

I figured out a couple hours later that I want to be a Barbie Doll. I figured out she and I have the same(ish) name when I was 16. Sometimes you just don’t see it.