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I hope people will attend the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Rally and March this year. It's a vibrant, inspiring event worth going to. And it's at the peak of its imagination, as far as I can tell.

For me, this is time well spent, and I don't like going to events, just to hear another speaker try to inspire me. But this - this march in Tyler - is different. It's got a home-grown and earnest feel to it that truly leaves something to nurture, think on and dwell on.

I've covered this event four times now, and it gets better every year. That's because the event organizers expand the ideas, which are presented, a bit each time.

I especially hope teenagers will take the time to march, to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. I hope some imagine what it was like to stand up for civil rights when it was dangerous or confrontational to do so. It's not dangerous now, but event organizers are right - to prevent the American dream from becoming a nightmare may take constant vigilance, perseverance and attention. There may be a day, God forbid, when confrontational marches have to be walked again.

So, why not do it now while it's still safe? Get used to it now. The experience may come in handy one day. What will it cost you? When you have a genuinely inspiring event in your hometown, why not come and spend a couple of hours to come get fueled up with inspiration for your own future?

One of the things that fascinates me about the march is how it's been propelled by an "outsider," who got to Tyler as quick as he could. San Diego native the Rev. Jerome Milton figuratively made the 1,200-mile-trip east, down Interstate 20 and turned right at the U.S. Highway 69 exit about 22 years ago. He stayed, and started something he was told he couldn't and even shouldn't do.

He was going to upset the apple cart with this march, maybe make things worse. People had to live here, he was told. They would have to live with his mistakes. Don't do it here. Don't embarrass the city. Don't, don't don't. Just don't.

He did it anyway and walked upon the waters. He had faith and didn't sink. Now the march is an inspiration, something to be proud of. If citizens aren't proud of the rally yet, I hope they will be this year and soak in the words that reflect the best of whom we are as a city, county and region.

I say, "Yea for Tyler, Texas," for this event. I've lived in a few of America's larger towns, including L.A., Chicago and New York, and a few smaller ones too. I've seen things from the massive Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, to the tiny Fourth of July celebration in Orick, Wash. Now I'm here to say, "Please don't miss this Tyler event. It's precious. It's real and it's heartfelt."

Sometimes it takes somebody from outside to come into our house and see what needs fixing. We get used to the way things are, instead of the way they should be. Someone needs to come in and run a finger over the mantel and say, "This needs dusting. Let me help."

The people who are going to be featured this year love Tyler and have had dreams. And gracious Tyler has responded to them. That to me is exceptional. It's rare, and it's here.

In America where marketing is so often mistaken for meaning, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Rally and March is the genuine article. Please experience it before it goes away and is just a distant memory of the "good ol' days," (may it never be). Support it. Change it. Grow it. Evolve it.

Read the list of the civic and religious leaders who felt this was important enough to contribute to, then come see if it's as good as it sounds. If it's not, the soup and coffee have always been worth the trip.

But I think it's going to be as good as it sounds.