In 1966, King said "I'm still convinced there's nothing more powerful to dramatize a social evil than the tramp tramp of marching people."

I woke up this morning after a horrible dream that I was out of town and my brother let a real jerk stay at my place and bring two dogs in with my cats. It was a very troubled dream and I awoke shaken only to find one of my two cats pestering me to wake up. Now who's the bother and pain!? So I got up and fed them, did my morning pages, made coffee, and after this post am going to write until noon. I am off this entire day, as I have been every Monday for this semester. It is heavenly. Sarah left for school yesterday and Leila is at work, and after the Holidays I am thankful for the time I had with my daughters, and also understand the value of this time alone, too. So I plan to stick to my schedule and not become distracted as I have in the past. I am a late bloomer, but when I get it, I get it.

I have taped to my computer a quote I've packed around for years found on the bottom of a writer's diary, given to me by a sweet co-worker who got me. The quote is by Raymond Carver, who I had the divine luck of sitting in one of his classes back in the late, late 70s, round the time he met Tess Gallagher who would be his live in lover and later wife, when he married her on his deathbed. I felt his energy, his "in the zone" back then and knew if he could do it (recovering alcoholic), I could, too. I did not know until nearly ten years later when at his memorial at the University of Texas at El Paso, this was how I felt, but I know it now. His quote is this: "Writing's not terrible, it's wonderful. I keep my own hours, do what I please. When I want to travel, I can. But mainly I'm doing what I most wanted to do all my life. I'm not into the agonies of creation."

I absolutely get it. Whatever roadblocks or tragedies befall us - whether self inflicted or reactions from society - just do it; keep on with your dream. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Day and I am charged with his passion, his understanding of doing it as it rolls across the screen of the mind's eye. Whatever that is, only YOU know, just do it.

Fuck Nike. Just do it.