Both men sought the well-being and future happiness of their black brethren. Jackson concerned himself further with their spiritual condition, as he started a black Sunday school in Lexington, out of which several future ministers and community leaders emerged. Lee and Jackson deserve far more respect than our state leaders tend to give them.

The Confederacy's two most famous generals from Virginia were both opposed to slavery, and Jackson himself even disregarded state law in his day to teach slaves to read.

Lee-Jackson Day does not receive equal treatment in Virginia with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. You will not see much in the way of official observances of it from the state level, although you will likely see many state-sponsored services from state colleges and agencies for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. You will see most of your local banks open on Friday, but they will be closed Monday.

We will likely see many state politicians giving speeches in honor of Dr. King, but many refuse to say anything positive in regards to Lee or Jackson. Some would degrade the memory of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson because of modern race politics designed to divide people to give certain political factions an edge over their opposition.

Passengers will know that if there is a problem on the bus, the driver isn't disconnected from help.

There was no effort to abandon any aesthetic or embrace a new one this time around. But the songs are more 'song-y,' perhaps because they were honed out on the road. There's something about the immediacy of performing in front of an audience, as opposed to a performance in your own head...what you do can be shaped by the reaction you get from the crowd.