This Day in History
Well, we have kind of a hat trick here. Today is important in three kinds of history: Future, national, and personal. First of all, it’s the day of the Iowa caucuses, which will play some small part in determining who gets to become the standard-bearer for the Democratic party. Which is even more important than you might think, because I’ve decided that if the party can’t beat George W. Bush, they ought to quietly disband. As I write this Iowa is said to be a three-man race, with Kerry having come from behind to show a slight lead over Dean in the polls. Edwards is in third with Gephardt close behind. I continue to like Clark, who chose to bypass Iowa and concentrate on New Hampshire, and Edwards, who seems to be shaping up as a very possible choice for VP. But like most Democrats and even one or two Republicans, I won’t have trouble sleeping after casting my vote for any of the Democratic Eight–except, of course, Joe Lieberman.
Of course, today is also the day we set aside to honor and remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, about whom so much has been said that it’s hard to know what to add. So I won’t except to say that on the off chance anyone reading this has never been exposed to his writings or speaking, get yourself a copy of the Letters From a Birmingham Jail or a audio or film copy of a couple of his speeches and marvel. There just isn’t a public figure around today with that kind of a natural, god-given if you like, gift for speeches that ring almost 40 years after they were first delivered. Bill Clinton came close, but kinda fucked up the legacy. That said, I refuse to believe that the good Reverend King would not have wanted me to receive my mail, especially when I’m expecting the new West Wing script book.
My mother probably shouldn’t read the last part of this entry, follow link below if you’re curious…
On the personal tip, today is the anniversary of the day I lost my virginity, back around 1988. For those of you who even now are becoming uncomfortable, don’t worry, I’m not going to describe the act or the day in any detail whatsoever.
But it’s an important day in anybody’s life, and thanks to MLK day, I always have an easy way to remember it. If you can I find it’s always best to plan the important dates in your life around those that have other signifigance. I had a girlfriend for a couple of years where the anniversary of our becoming “officially” boyfriend and girlfriend fell on New Years. Which was a good way to avoid those sitcom cliches of the guy forgetting and the girl getting mad.
Though actually, given my tendency towards romanticism and truly frightening memory–right, Moya?–the odds of my forgetting it before she did were probably not that good in the first place.
