Remember King with actions

It was around mile six of the Martin Luther King Jr. Torch Relay that I dropped the torch. \nThat's right, I dropped and broke the thing. There I was, in the middle of Newport, R.I., running with a Coleman flashlight (which was supposed to represent a torch), honoring one of America's greatest civil rights leaders.\nThe whole concept was the brainchild of my cross-country coach, who was under the impression that having five tall, skinny white guys run with a flashlight would somehow pay tribute to a man who changed the way many Americans thought about racial equality. And even though I joke about it, Coach Goodrum was right.\nWe woke up early that Monday morning and hopped in Goodrum's van. The plan was as follows: One of us would run with the torch until we got tired, at which point we would signal to another guy in the van. This guy would then hop out of the van (while it was in motion, mind you) and continue carrying the torch to its final destination, which, to the best of my knowledge, was some small town located within the boundaries of the state of Rhode Island.\nSo my teammates and I started this 13-mile journey with the pure intention of making our coach happy. I've always known who Martin Luther King Jr. was, and like most, I've always had a great respect for him. \nBut let's face it, many Americans simply see his legacy as a day off. \nOn that cold January morning, I chose not to sleep in and do nothing. Instead, I poured my sweat onto the frozen asphalt of a small New England town, in memory of a man I've never met.\nIt was with some embarrassment that I dropped the torch. I obviously had no intentions of doing so, but nevertheless, I found myself in the situation anyway. What do you do when you drop the symbol of peace, love and hope? I did what anyone else would've done. I picked that flashlight up as soon as I could and acted like nothing had happened.\nI kept on running, that is, until I got tired. Then I got in that van as fast as I could to hide my face. Not surprisingly, my teammates laughed as if it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. I kind of expected them to make fun of me, but I felt like I had let the whole world down. There I was, representing peace, and I dropped the torch. Go figure.\nHere I am, five years later, joking about the events of that day. Today, I can laugh about it as another absurd event that has shaped my life. But back then, I thought I had dismissed all that America's civil rights leaders had ever stood for. I guess I was just too hard on myself.\nHave we really progressed that much from the 1960s? I think we've made significant progress, but we're far from realizing Dr. King's dreams. Racism, sexism, homophobia -- they all still exist today. The world in which we live is an imperfect place, but each and every one of us has the power to initiate change. \nMaybe it's volunteering at the local Boys and Girls club. Perhaps it's giving a homeless person some spare change. But deep within the heart of us all lies the obligation to further the prospect of humanity.\nDid you sleep until noon on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Did you stay out on Sunday night at Kilroy's, drinking until you couldn't drive home? Did the thought of King even cross your mind this past weekend? \nMaybe you dropped the torch.