Signature Days

Into every one's life come signature days which etch themselves into the mind and soul of those who experience them so that they are never forgotten. These days make a difference in the entire world and become a part of history that will last forever. October 29, 1929 was one of those days when the stock market plunged into oblivion and created The Great Depression. The United States and the world economies did not recover from that disaster for ten years until WWII began. That event, that signature day, certainly had a dire affect on my own life. Granted I was only five years old and I did believe there was a Santa Claus. But when my sister and I hung our stockings out on our little fireplace, the next morning found only oranges in them. It was then I began to realize that we were very poor. I looked around at our circumstances, our crowded bungalow, the clothing we wore, the food that appeared on out table, my handicapped father, and jobless mother and with my empty stocking in hand, wept for our lot--not for me so much, but for my parents who could not afford to buy a toy for my sister and me.

The second signature day in my life occurred on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese navy bombed Pearl Harbor. At the time, I was listening to a football game on the radio when the announcer broke in with the news. His report was rather sketchy--hardly comparing with the skill of the news media these days. I was 17 at the time, and hardly aware of a place called Pearl Harbor until I had a chance to hear the late news and read my newspaper on Monday morning. It was not long after that when Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan. I couldn't understand how the bombing could happen. Wasn't anyone on the radar? Couldn't a Japanese fleet and aircraft of the size involved be detected in adequate time to defend the ships we had berthed at the Harbor? And what did the Japanese hope to gain from what they achieved that day? I believed it to be an impossibility for them to invade the United States. So, the event was a puzzle to me. But that day had an effect on my life--I voluntarily joined the military--the United States Navy. On June 6, 1944, known forever as DDay, the greatest invasion in world wars took place. And the rest is history.

Two other signature days occurred in my own life after WWII. One was on August 28, 1963 when I took time off from school to go on the Washington March and heard Martin Luther King make one of the greatest speeches in American History. Before that, I was hopelessly and helplessly against the inequalities I saw for blacks in America. It would be 45 years before Rev. King's dream would come to fruition with the election of a black president of the United States--an unthinkable and amazing event surpassing even the first time election of an Irish Catholic president a few months later than the March when JFK defeated Richard Nixon. Certainly 9/11 was a signature day. I woke to the TV when I saw replays of the planes charging into two magnificent buildings. When I saw them collapsing it was beyond belief. Over 3000 people died in that project of terrorism, and it changed our lives in countless ways.

But one of the greatest of my signature days happened yesterday when Barack Obama became the next President elect of the United States. While he was making his historic speech in Chicago's Grant Park, you could see the look on the faces of some of the people who were there. Many were shedding tears of joy, including Jesse Jackson and Oprah. Others were looking at Obama who had them mesmerized with his presence and his speech. Now, it remains to be seen what Obama can do to put this country back on the right road. It will take great skill and leadership to accomplish all the needs that we have, and if he succeeds in saving the real America, he will become a legend as a truly great president.