LEGAL PEE WEE HERMAN – YOU KNOW WHICH ONE YOU ARE,

YOU LABEL ME AS “DEFIANT” – THAT GAVE ME A GOOD CHUCKLE AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT. IF YOU WANT TO PUT ME IN THE COMPANY OF OTHER NOTABLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LABELED AS “DEFIANT,” I ACCEPT. HERE IS A SHORT LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LABELED AS “DEFIANT:”

1. ROSA PARKS SITTING ON A BUS
2. MLK – I HAVE A DREAM (ARRESTED 29 TIMES – AT LEAST!)
3. NELSON MANDELA – SAT IN JAIL FOR 30 YEARS AND THEN BECAME THE LEADER OF SOUTH AFRICA
4. SOCRATES – AT HIS TRIAL TELLING HIS JUDGES THEY SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO HIM AND HE SHOULD BE GIVEN FREE MEALS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE
5. LEONIDAS – AT Thermopylae, TELLING XERXES MOLON LABE
6. LASTLY, FOR NOW, NATHAN HALE AT HIS EXECUTION

IF THIS IS THE COMPANY YOU WISH TO INCLUDE ME WITH (AND HISTORY HAS MANY, MANY OTHERS) I AM HONORED.

TO MY DAUGHTER, SOPHIA:

I HAVE TAUGHT YOU MANY LESSONS ABOUT STANDING UP FOR YOUR PRINCIPLES. AT THE END OF YOUR LIFE, YOU CAN ONLY BE JUDGED BY HOW FAITHFULLY YOU HAVE STOOD BY YOUR CONVICTIONS AND PRINCIPLES. I AM SETTING THE EXAMPLE FOR YOU WITH EVERY DAY.

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LOVE,

DAD