I Met Martin Luther King, Jr.

[ddpool]

When I was very young, I would often go with my family to Love Field airport in Dallas to drop off or pick up visiting relatives. My father seemed to have a knack for spotting old friends or famous people in the crowds and sometimes we'd have an opportunity to meet someone special.

I remember once we were introduced to a very nice black man. I guess it stuck in my mind (I think I was 3 years old) because we didn't encounter many black people in my white neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. But I remember how my father spoke with such respect as he introduced us. Clearly, this man was somebody special and I was told I would remember meeting him. And I did.

I was much older before all the blanks in my child-like memory were filled in and I realized that that man was Martin Luther King, Jr. He was on his way to a meeting of the Atlanta Pastor's Conference, and my parents told him about my grandfather who would also be there. We later heard that my grandfather did meet him there and when Dr. King heard his name he said, "Oh, I just met your three beautiful grandchildren in Dallas!"

I remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and he remembered me.

When I posted this on my blog (http://ddpool.blogspot.com/2009/01/mlk-me.html) my father left the following comment:

I can fill in more blanks. We were meeting your Aunt Becky, who ran up to us and said, "You'll never guess who was on my plane!" I said, "Martin Luther King." I had spotted him emerging out of the chute. Days earlier, we had watched TV coverage of his acceptance speech as he received the Nobel Peace prize. As Becky collected luggage, I saw that no one crowded around. That's when when I gathered you kids and went to him and said, "Dr. King, I want to congratulate you on the Nobel prize. We watched you on TV. I wanted my kids to be able to say they met you. " He was gracious and friendly. Talked with us about 17 minutes as I recall. He gave us his autograph, but I don't know if we still have it. The memories we have forever.

I found out that we do still have that autograph. My older brother has it now.

[XandJsMommy]

Jan. 24, 2011 at 9:40 PM

that is an awesome story!