jo burgess hannon

fit for today, fit for life

MLK had a LOT of wisdom

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Today as I reflect on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. I realize he was so much more than ( I am paraphrasing) ” judge not by the color of my skin.”

While there are so many worldly MLK quotes, this really hit home for me today: ‘silence of our friends’. I am wondering if a friend silent is a friend. I hope I can be the friend who calls a friend just because. I hope I am the friend that acknowledges tough times. I hope I can be the friend to celebrate all the good a friend experiences even if I am not a participant.

My dad was a truck driver

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February 8, 2022 Ottawa, Canada (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP) via NPR

I know, I KNOW!

I have written about him before. But now that we are in the midst of government officials and mainstream media who want to paint truckers as violent anarchists I have to re-visit this topic. My dad was a trucker and for the most part a quiet, gentle man. My dad spent hours and days on the road as a long hauler from Seattle to Chicago. He had hands like leather from tarping his loads and putting chains on his 18 wheeler. He was tough as nails inside and out. I never really understood how he spent so much time alone.

A massive protest in Ottawa, Ontario, that began with truck drivers opposing a cross-border vaccine mandate is still snarling traffic in the Canadian capital more than a week after it began. Farmers are driving their tractors to the city, U.S. truckers are driving in as well. Money is pouring in from all over the world to support these people while they take time off their jobs to effect change.

Side Note: With what must have been immense political pressure, Go Fund Me has seized these dollars. And then said if funders did not ask for their money back, “they” would decide which charity(s) should get these millions of dollars. This is fraud. Yes, they are now giving everyone their money back without having to ask. Still, it needs to be said this is fraudulent cancel culture.

I guess it takes the quiet ones who enjoy solitude to stand up and fight against tyranny. I had to look up the word tyranny to make sure I was using the word correctly: cruel and oppressive government. Mainstream media and politicians are trying to paint this movement as something horrible that needs to be stopped immediately. Yet police are handing out tickets for too much honking. Because unlike the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, no windows are being smashed, no businesses are being looted, no cars are being burned, no city blocks are being taken over as autonomous zones. NPR reports that the protesters have largely remained peaceful. Much of the criticism of the protest is focused on the disruptions to city life for those residing and working in Ottawa.

Having grown up around truckers I can tell you these are a group of hardworking people who are trying to provide for their families. There is no logic in requiring Covid 19 vaccines for the Northern border of the US when millions are pouring in unvaccinated over our southern border. Aaaaand, requiring a vaccine that does not prevent you from getting or giving the virus seems like overreach too.

I admit, I am surprised it’s the truckers who have the courage to be the first to peacefully protest against vaccine mandates on a large scale.

I’m proud to be a truck drivers daughter.

Life is perspective

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I have no viewpoint beyond my own.

I was raised In a blue collar, working class house where both of my parents held long time jobs. There were a lot of racial slurs, what are now derogatory labeling of different ethic groups. In my childhood it was common, everyday language. I could roll four ‘nicknames’ off my tongue right now. It was somewhere in elementary school, early 1970’s, when I became friends with a Japanese girl, that I realized this might be disrespectful.

When we know better we can do better.

And, I really thought I was doing better. We worked hard to raise our daughter to be what I thought of as color blind. To not label a person by their skin or ethnicity. To instead describe the person. To see the human. Learn about the country the Taiwanese friend came from.

It still seems like a good way to raise a child: see the person, embrace who they are. Martin Lurther King said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Our perspective, viewpoint, can can change when we are open to input. Do you think Dr. King’s dream is still relevant today?

How can I be of service?

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Yesterday we closed our doors at the Coal Creek YMCA, directed by our WA state governor, as a health and fitness club. Today a crew signed health forms at the door and got busy cleaning every single surface in the building with disinfectant. It felt like a cleaning bootcamp fitness class as we emptied racks of weights: I walked 5 miles back and forth and moved hundreds of pounds of barbell plates today.

One of the last items on our lengthy checklist was to pick up trash in the parking lot. I thought I was going home; with no else volunteering I found my hand in the air. What a humble experience to pick up everything from cigarette butts, bottles, cans, smashed LEGO’s, wrappers and gum. (Seriously people use the garbage cans! ) I worked through the lot with our Senior Healthy Living Director who’s amazing work ethic and can-do attitude sets an example for us all. 

I am proud to be associated with an organization that cares so much for our community. Tomorrow we open our doors, following state government directives, as a critical response center. We will be providing childcare for first responders and critical workers all across the King County at our YMCA branches. If you are a Y member and can, please continue to pay your dues as we are doing everything to put your $’s to good use.