writing | Cathy C. Hall Writes

Many of you may be celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday today. After all, the third Monday in January is set aside to remember this man and his work for racial equality. But I don’t think you can top author, Dorothy Parker, and the way she chose to celebrate and remember Dr. King.

And now you’re probably starting to wonder. Do I mean Dorothy Parker, the acerbic wit whose poetry and reviews often showed up in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair? You’re remembering her satirical short stories, or perhaps her reputation as a party girl. That Dorothy Parker?

Yep, that Dorothy Parker. She was quite the wise-cracking writer, but she was a political activist as well. And though she never met Martin Luther King, Jr., she was a fan of the civil rights movement and social equality, and she admired what the clergyman from the South was trying to achieve. So she left her literary estate to him.

Within a year, King was assassinated, and so the estate was rolled over to the NAACP. Eventually, Dorothy Parker’s ashes were interred at a memorial garden at the organization’s Baltimore headquarters (which is a fascinating story in itself), and her epitaph reads:

“Here lie the ashes of Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) Humorist, writer, critic, defender of human and civil rights. For her epitaph she suggested “Excuse My Dust”. This memorial garden is dedicated to her noble spirit which celebrated the oneness of humankind, and to the bonds of everlasting friendship between black and Jewish people.”

Today we remember Martin Luther King, Jr., yes, but we also remember that his dream of equality continues with each and every one of us. As writers, we might not have a big literary estate like Dorothy Parker to support the dream. But we have our words.

And words can change the world.

It’s Thanksgiving morning, and I’ve got a few minutes before I start cooking (and I use that term loosely) and rallying the troops to help pull this feast together. But a few minutes is all I need to say thank you.

I know lots of famous writers who say “write for yourself” or “write what you need to write and don’t worry about anyone else.” And I believe there’s validity in those philosophies. But I’d be lying if I said I only write for myself.

I write essays for Chicken Soup for the Soul books–and hope readers will smile or sigh or maybe even tear up a bit and say, “Yes, that’s just like me.”

I write stories for children–and hope little kids will laugh or shriek or beg to stay up one more minute so they can hear the story all over again.

I write blog posts here and at The Muffin (I have a Thanksgiving post over there today!) and other assorted places on the web–and hope writers will read those words and chuckle or nod or say, “Sheesh. If she can do this, so can I.”

So a big thank you to the readers everywhere who gobble up my words till they’re stuffed. You make all the hard work worth every minute!