Columns

The great humorist Erma Bombeck said that no one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed.

As we move into another season’s homestretch, given the wistfulness of this increasingly sentimental septuagenarian, this is about the time I begin to inventory the departing season’s events, both those I consider positive and those anything but. As for the latter, those items often involve those folks who’ve impacted the lives of so many whose linear lines often abruptly came to an end.

Life comes down to a handful of defining moments, incidents where one’s destiny hinges on the outcome. Think of taking a college entrance exam, making an offer on your first house, or interviewing for a job. With so much at stake, the delay until the outcome is known is sheer torture. As Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

I remember. Do you? Sixty years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, seeking to focus the nation’s attention on civil rights and jobs.

Despite claims from the loony left, there is no evidence to suggest that the horrific Hawaiian wildfires were caused by climate change. There, someone finally said it. Yet those responsible for the events leading up to a tragedy that devastated Lahaina and its 13,000 residents could at least have lessened the result.

There’s a lot of sad news to go around, but this Vox story really breaks my heart: animal shelters are overflowing with abandoned dogs and cats again.

It is common sense that a law cannot be followed unless those affected by the law are aware of the law or can become aware of the law. Consistent with that principle, the Constitution requires that laws be “promulgated” before those laws can be enforced. Promulgated means “announced or proclaimed,” usually by written publication.

I hate to be cliché, but I’m going to tell you a proverb you’ve probably already heard a hundred or so times.

This year, Aug. 28 will mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his eminent “I Have a Dream” speech. The large black-and-white signs carried by the marchers are dominant images that have always stood out to me. There was an array of bold messages being paraded around the National Mall that included “We Demand Voting Rights Now,” “End Segregated Rules in Public Schools” and “Civil Rights Plus Full Employment Equals Freedom.” When looking at the historic photos of other iconic leaders who spoke that day — John Lewis, Daisy Bates, A. Phillip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Walter Reuther, Floyd McKissick and Whitney Young — it is powerfully clear that a mighty declaration was being made against the evils of racial hatred and discrimination that still hardened the hearts of many in our nation. Bates was the only woman who spoke on the March’s program as she gave the “Tribute to Negro Women Fighters for Freedom.” Myrlie Evers had previously been appointed for this task but could not attend.

You don’t need a master’s degree in nuclear engineering to put furniture together. But I’m glad my son-in-law has one. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have a nice new love seat and a set of matching chairs on the patio.