He’s the best man I’ve ever known, William Johnson. He’s also my Daddy. God knew I needed more than one because I’d be a lot to handle.
When I was 2 months old, his wife came home with her brothers baby, me. They took me in the day my mother died, and raised me as their own.
When I was 2 months old, his wife came home with her brothers baby, me. They took me in the day my mother died, and raised me as their own.
William took me to school every morning. He taught me how to tie a tie. He gave me my first car. He helped me buy my second car. He taught me to be proud of my Blackness. He taught me how to like myself even when the world hated me.
He would always say, “I don’t care if you like me, I like me and that’s enough.” He taught me that I was enough.
Most of all, he taught me that love is a choice. You see, I wasn’t born his son, yet I got everything his sons got.
Most of all, he taught me that love is a choice. You see, I wasn’t born his son, yet I got everything his sons got.
I wasn’t born his son, yet I never felt like his nephew. He showed me, how you love someone is a choice you make as an individual. He didn’t have to be my Daddy, and (he probably had no choice because my momma ain’t nothing to be played with 😂)
but he did have a choice in how he loved me, and he chose to love me without condition or borders.
He was a janitor at Banks Elementary for decades, but he didn’t just clean the school. He spent afternoons teaching young men how to shoot a basketball or throw the football.
He was a janitor at Banks Elementary for decades, but he didn’t just clean the school. He spent afternoons teaching young men how to shoot a basketball or throw the football.
He taught me it’s not how much you make, but what you do with what you make. He was always the best dressed at the school, drove the nicest car, and gave us a beautiful home on a modest salary.
A man who never met his father a day in his life, was a father to his biological children, and me. He’s 78 years old, and I pray everyday that God give him more years so he can see that his seeds brought forth a powerful harvest.
So he knows I listened every time he gave me a long talk. I am the man I am today, because of this man. If I am half the man William Johnson is, I’ll be a hell of a man when it’s all said and done.
Daddy, I love you and I appreciate you for everything you’ve been to me. Thank you for being my hero and my cheerleader. Happy Father’s Day.
Your Son,
- Gary -
Your Son,
- Gary -
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