IN MY LIFE (EXCERPTS)

In my life I absorbed the shockwaves that rolled across this land when they silenced Martin Luther King Jr.-dousing the intense flame of a brilliant fire, yet the embers remained.
In my life I felt the hatred and fear of a nation locked in a power struggle about a war neither side truly comprehended.
In my life I witnessed the massacre of children on our campuses, slaughtered and maimed for being unruly and voicing their opinions and concern.
In my life I lived with the blending of races and tho not perfect, we were together and learning from and with each other.
In my life I embraced the 70's and rebelled from the norms.
In my life I hid in the closet and loved on the sly.
In my life I watched a president defend his illegal actions and try to justify himself because he was the president and such things didn't apply to him.
In my life I saw crowds cheer when our president, smiling greedily in triumph, signed away our blue collar protections.
In my life I've experienced the death and destruction of friends, family and strangers-obliterated by others ideas of right and wrong.