A post from 2015, with some edits.
How would a young boy react to a record breaking snow in a city where it doesn't snow all that much in a typical winter? (It would seem, in a typical year, Atlanta gets a total of three inches (7.62 cm) of snow).
In 2015, our Weather Channel gave us a fascinating glimpse into the
world of a young boy who grew up to be an important part of the history
of the United States.
Monday will be a federal holiday in the United States - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
I do not know how many of my readers living outside the United States
have heard of the late Dr. King (assassinated in 1968) but he is one of
only three people in United States history to have Federal holidays in
their honor. (King's actual birthday was Tuesday January 15 - like so many other
Federal holidays, this holiday always falls on a Monday.)
Dr. King was a Baptist minister. A leader of the Civil Rights
movement. A social activist. A man who had a dream. That dream
changed the lives of millions of people.
But once upon a time, Dr. King was a young boy. Born in 1929, he was 10
years old when he wrote a short letter to his father about playing in
snow. Dr. King's childhood was spent in Atlanta, Georgia, where it does
snow, but not that often.
The young Dr. King had a great time making snowmen and throwing snowballs, and cleaning off a sidewalk. He mentioned how hard a job the sidewalk cleaning was.
It turns out the snowfall he shoveled was a record snowfall for Atlanta - 8.3 inches (21 cm).
But young Dr. King had a fun time with the record snow he was fortunate enough to experience.
Just reading this short letter makes me want to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. the boy and the man. Not the legend, but the man who once enjoyed a snow day.
A fantastic thought: greatness lies inside all of us. Greatness comes when you let it out.
...thanks for the information about Martin Luther King Jr and snow, it was new to me.
ReplyDeleteThis year the holiday and his actual birthday coincide.
ReplyDeleteWe sometimes forget that our great leaders and heroes are also real people and that they were once children. Thank you for that charming story,
I grew up in the South and snow events were very rare, but I remember one in particular. I think I was thirteen years old. The snow was several inches (maybe 5 or 6) deep and it lingered for days. It was great fun for us kids at the beginning and a slushy mess when it began to melt.
ReplyDeleteYou should know that the 3" of snow is an average. We might go 3 years without snow, then get hit with a 12" snowstorm.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this, I didn't know a thing about his childhood. He was probably grateful that that shoveling wasn't an annual thing! It is hard. I lived one winter in snow. The worst was laying on the ground to put chains on the car!
ReplyDeleteWe are having a bit of a storm bit not much in my city. If I was living in the country where I used to, we'd get a foot...often because we got the Buffalo weather
ReplyDeleteOh man, I meant to say that King is one of few men I admire and we forget that he eas a boy and a man not just an icon
ReplyDeleteNot sure if our community is doing anything for human rights or not. They're usually a small event here.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of a stat I saw once. Three famous people who were born in 1929: Martin Luther King, Jr., Anne Frank, and Barbara Walters.
ReplyDelete