Sunday, April 15, 2007

Jackie Robinson Day

In Major League Baseball parks around the country today is Jackie Robinson Day. It is the day that MLB has decided to celebrate and commemorate Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball 60 years ago. Jackie Robinson is one of my heroes. I am a huge baseball fan. I played baseball in high school and college. And without a doubt Jackie was one of the best to ever play the game. And when you consider all that he had to endure and the path he had to blaze, it could be argued that he was the best man every to step between the lines. Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered for his role as the spiritual and emotional leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Yet, before the nation had ever heard of M.L. King, it was Jackie who carried the banner for equality, justice, and Civil Rights. When America looked a true American to demonstrate what the ideals of America really were, it found him among the Boys of Summer, playing a boys game with a manly, godly dignity and grace. If there are two words that I would use to describe Jackie, the words would be dignity and grace. Grace on the field and dignity off of it. I could go on and on about Jackie. He is without a doubt one of the finest men this county has known. If you are interested (and you should be), a wonderful biography is Jackie Robinson: A Biography. Read it and thank God that there have been giants, true giants among us. THANK YOU, MR. ROBINSON!

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