January 2006

Keep the dream alive , from the MLK memorial sculpture in downtown Atlanta (via flickr)

A little after his day of honor, but some worthy rememberances for any day -

From Dr. King’s speech on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, hours before his death:

Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

This speech and a lot more of our greatest speeches are available to hear at this American Rhetoric site.

From “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution”, delivered at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., on 31 March 1968:

Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools.

Benjamin Franklin:
Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Randy Moss:
When you’re rich, you don’t write checks. Straight cash, homey.

Dag Hammarskjold:
Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible – not to have run away.

Marion Parker:
Be kind – Remember every one you meet is fighting a battle – everybody’s lonesome.

Chinese proverb:
Talk does not cook rice.

Franklin P. Jones:
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.

W. C. Fields:
I always keep a supply of stimulant handy in case I see a snake–which I also keep handy.

Edgar Watson Howe:
When a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is any thing you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.

Theodore Roosevelt:
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Thomas Guthrie:
Do it now. It is not safe to leave a generous feeling to the cooling influences of the world.

Orson Welles:
I hate television. I hate it as much as I hate peanuts. But I can’t stop eating peanuts.

Formula 1 auto racing president on Danica Patrick, female driving sensation:
“…women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson:
The greater man the greater courtesy.

FEMA chief Michael Brown, in an email a few days into the Katrina disaster:
“Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?”

Marcel Proust:
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.