This is my Father, the late Elonzo Watson Sr. He was an incredibly proud man who was naturally brilliant. He tried to go back to school at one point and was humble and secure enough to sit in a classroom in a little chair made for 4th graders. I would accompany him to school as he learned how to read.
My Father was one of the most verbal and articulate men around but he could not read higher than the 5th grade. He worked all his life and raised three Black boys in Bed Sty. He came home every night and went to work every day until he died a week from retirement on vacation in my Mother's arms. He was slightly older than me by months.
He loved his wife and he loved his sons. He never judged me or made me question who I was. I was very proud of me and in the early days a real taskmaster. He was really hard on me as he prepared me to contend with a society who saw me as enemy #1.
I am now the oldest living man in both sides of my family. I have no elder men to talk to. It all now comes from me. I miss him today and the way he always listened to me and I knew that every step I took he was supportive of me. Everything I am stems from the uncompromising love of my parents for their children. Rest Easy Daddy.
