Month: May 2013
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Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
My mother Callie Sue Tilghman Mulkey passed away yesterday at the age of 88. Below is a poem that I shared last night at an impromptu gathering of our clan. Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there; I…
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“Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” published 50 years ago today
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested while leading coordinated marches and sit-ins against racism and racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963. Dr. King wrote “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” in response to “A Call for Unity“: a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen against King and his methods. King’s letter was…
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25 things you may not know (or even care to know) about me
I was a scrawny little kid who was frequently ill. One of my elementary school teachers even referred to me as “sickly.” I played football with reckless abandon from junior high through college, though I have no interest whatsoever in watching games on the gridiron any longer. My favorite color is blue. More than half…
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We’re all blessed!
Tonight while listening to music at the Lavender-Mulkey homestead. Gracelyn: Let’s dance! Me & Shonnie: OK! (The two of us adults slow dance facing each other with Gracelyn lying on her back in our outstretched arms) Gracelyn: I’m blessed. Gracelyn: Are you blessed, Mommy? Shonnie: Yes, I am, darling. Gracelyn: Are you blessed, Daddy? Me:…
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Mr. Rogers defends PBS before U.S. Senate
The day Mr. Rogers saved public television. I wrote “Mr. Rogers offered kids genuine acceptance and a unique model of manhood” shortly after his death in 2003.