Forty years ago today I was hitchhiking through France during the European equivalent of Spring break. No cellphones, no Internet, and transatlantic calls were still a big deal. A man, perhaps in his 30s, picked us up, and as soon as we got into the car, he started yelling. He was talking so fast and so loudly that even though my French was reasonably good, I couldn't understand what he meant. "Keeng! Keeng!" he said over and over. We weren't responding until finally, in desperation, he said, "Le roi est mort! Martin Luter le roi est mort!" And then we realized what he was saying, turned our attention to the radio...and...
PS: I chose this photo for this post for two reasons - first, grief, which speaks without words here, and second, because of this great honor: Coretta Scott King is also a graduate of my alma mater, the once and future Antioch College.