Today: “Make it a day on, not a day off.”

..Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now.

I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

Those were the words Dr. Martin Luther King delivered, on the eve of his assassination at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968. [For the full text of “I’ve Been Up to the Mountain Top,” click here. ]

A few more things I think are worth sharing:

• From The Boston Globe: When Martin met Coretta and King’s Legacy Recalled in Roxbury

• Patty Griffin’s “Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)”, inspired by Dr. King’s final speech:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXp_gWxoULg&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Today marks Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and for most people it’s a day off from work.  I am not one of those people, but going to work means I am spending his day just around the corner from Dr. King’s former home in Boston. If you are off today, you might consider making it a day on, as today is also a national Day of Service.

Dr. King lived at 397 Massachusetts Ave from 1952-1953, and later in an apartment on St. Botolph Street, while he was in graduate school at Boston University.  Both places are, quite literally, around the corner from my office. While I’d heard incredible stories from some of my colleagues about Dr. King preaching in the area, I didn’t know he had lived on the very street I walk or drive each day.

I wonder about how much that street and our neighborhood and this city has changed since he was living in that boarding house on Mass Ave.  And I thank him for influencing so many of those changes that are positive.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Please remember to vote in tomorrow’s historic special election, fellow Massachusettians (polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
• Badass treadmill workout

How are you spending your day?  Who lived on your block?