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.
