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There is an adage, “Tomorrow is promised to no one.” Hence, we may appear to be in excellent health yet without a hint the Grim-reaper can alter our life’s plans by engaging us in a life and death struggle to see another birthday.
I had a boyhood African American friend who came from a poor background. He became a Vietnam War veteran. My friend worked hard to get a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration.
My friend married a wonderful African American lady who earned a doctoral degree. His wife became a university professor. She also is an excellent cook.
This African American couple had no biological children, so they adopted an infant African American boy. My friend was really proud of this child. He and his wife appeared to be the perfect parents for this child.
When my friend had become a manager at a satellite campus of a major university and I recall his sharing that he also had been president of a Rotary chapter, he fell sick with a heart attack. His health deteriorated further by a stroke that required my friend to spend roughly a year in a recuperative hospital – sometimes tied in a wheelchair.
My friend was very strong-willed. He learned to walk again; therefore, he came out of that hospital. My friend even drove himself to annual get-togethers of the old boyhood friends.
The Grim-reaper continued to slowly rob my friend’s life through another heart attack. My friend now needed a new heart. He finally got a new heart; however, the Grim-reaper had the upper hand. As I set at his funeral, I was proud to have known such a fine person who exemplified living the American Dream.
When I recount my friend’s experience growing up poor as an African American male and advancing up the socioeconomic ladder of success, today I feel distress for he would be an excellent role model for so many African American young men and boys who have no concept of a father in their lives. Thus, I feel honored to share his story for hopefully it will encourage others to share their love with fatherless children.
