4 APR 08: ONE NIGHT WITHOUT THE KING

The date was 4 Apr 68 - and on that Thursday night, I was in what we called the "playroom" of the family home. I was nine years old, and used most of it for play. But my Mom had a desk and office equipment in one side - so her idea of "play" was writing checks and invoices for my Dad's business.

I don't remember exactly what I was doing in the playroom on that Thursday night 40 years ago. But I was on a vinyl couch when a TV network interrupted the prime-time program. An announcer mentioned the shooting of Martin Luther King, Junior. Nowadays, the major networks might have settled for a ticker message on the screen - and Fox News Channel might have ignored it completely.

A short time later, the announcer came back on to declare Martin Luther King, Junior was dead. I buried my head in the playroom couch's padding. Even at age nine, I knew this was NOT good news. It wasn't even good enough news to get school called off the next day.

I lived on the Kansas side of Kansas City - and while my area was calm in April 1968, the killing of Dr. King sparked unrest on the Missouri side. Looking back, the sad thing was that the rioting was NOT surprising. It had become a familiar summer sight in several big-city "ghettos." And this was way back, before anyone had a "ghetto-blaster."

The Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri ordered curfews for several nights in April 1968, yet scattered rioting occurred. That mayor's name was Ilus Davis. To this day, I've never heard of anyone else named Ilus. The closest was that radio guy named Imus....

Kansas City had a minor-league hockey team in 1968 - and on that April night, the Blues happened to be in Memphis for a playoff game. Play-by-play announcer Lynn Farris called a radio station, to report the city of the King killing had an "eery" feeling of some sort. Things apparently seemed too quiet - the way plenty of young people feel today without their iPods.

The hockey game with the Memphis South Stars was called off that night. And in fact, the entire playoff series was moved to Kansas City as a precaution. Do the Columbus Cottonmouths know about this incident? They could stir up something in Knoxville, and stay at home until they win their semifinal round.

In April 1968, I'm not sure I knew Columbus, Georgia even existed. So I don't know how this city handled the murder of Martin Luther King Junior. The home city of Dr. King was Atlanta, and it remained calm -- but perhaps it remained a "sleepy Southern city" until the 1970s.

We hear the "where were you" question a lot, when it comes to the murder of President Kennedy. But I don't tend to hear it much about the death of Martin Luther King Junior. Perhaps that's because a sizeable number of people were glad to see him go. He seemed to find fault with so many things in society - perhaps as many as fundamentalist preachers still do now.

Some people remember 1967 for the "summer of love." But we tend to forget (perhaps on purpose) how 1968 was a year of death. Two months after the King assassination, Robert Kennedy was murdered in Los Angeles. I actually talked about it the next morning, with someone in my church's Vacation Bible School. We talked like immature budding journalists - bragging to each other about who heard the news first.

It's curious to me that no African-American organization in Columbus is doing anything, to mark 40 years since the assassination of Dr. King. Thursday's edition of "The Courier" didn't even mention it. I can't believe people are still recovering from the holiday celebrations of mid-January....

Even in Atlanta, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Junior may have lost some impact. I was stunned to learn this week that a radio station is holding a "March Sadness" tournament, to find the saddest event in human history. Dr. King made the 64-entry bracket, but lost in a first-round online vote to the death of Dale Earnhardt. But at least that other "King" from Memphis missed the cut - Elvis Presley.

E-MAIL UPDATE: What seemed to be good news from a Lee County high school brought a skeptical message from a reader Thursday....

Yea for Smiths Station High on a fruitless drug search with 6 dog sniffers...But,pills don't smell..From the teens I work with taking pills from parents and other adults is now the norm..Parents don't leave your Rx where teens can be tempted..They might not take them ,but the market for pills is big business.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with part of this. Some pills have a distinctive scent. They simply aren't inviting aromas - which is why I think more people would take medicine if they were coated in chocolate.

BIG PREDICTION: I'm not sure how it will happen, but my beloved Kansas Jayhawks will find a way to beat former Coach Roy Williams and North Carolina at the college basketball Final Four this weekend. Maybe the fans can psyche out Williams, by holding Bonnie Bernstein masks over their faces to remind him of 2003.

Now for other quick picks from a Thursday which I actually found comfortable....

+ Columbus had clouds, but a lack of rain. Yet an isolated thunderstorm dropped seven inches of rain on Claxton, Georgia. You DO prefer moist fruitcake, don't you?

+ The Columbus Catfish opened the new season by losing to Savannah 2-0. The attendance at Golden Park was a surprisingly large 1,895. Opening your season on a night with cheap beer makes all the difference in the world.

+ Atlanta's baseball team lost to Pittsburgh 4-3 in ten innings. Pitcher Mike Hampton was supposed to make his first start for Atlanta in three years - but he pulled a muscle warming up before the game. This guy could go to a Hampton Inn, and be turned away as a bad omen.

+ Instant Message to Wane Hailes of The Courier: I thought you were an ethical man. But putting your signature on an "obituary for Common Sense" tells me otherwise. And the fact that the item was sent through e-mail by Republican state lawmaker Richard Smith really has me wondering about you....

SCHEDULED THIS WEEKEND: We head to what should be a large anniversary party....

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BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 684 (+ 27, 4.1%)

TRUDGE REPORT, DAYS 33: 3.35 miles run, 0.2 walked. Total: 104.70 miles run, 14.5 walked

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