DON'S MEMORIES

By Donald L. Williams

I am the youngest child of C.T. Williams Sr. and Lucille Taylor Williams. I was born on November 30, 1954. At the time, our family was living at 624 Clark Street. When I was two years old, we moved to 1805 Bedford Road.

As a child living on Bedford Road, I spent a lot of my time at Margaret's and Edd's playing with Phil, who was two years older than me. For several years, Mother kept Phil while Margaret worked, so we spent a lot of time together then, too. Even though I was his "Uncle Don", he seemed like a brother to me. When I started to Fairview School, and Phil called me "Uncle Don" when he met me down the hall, I didn't think it was so funny!

Donald Lane Williams at age 4
I don't remember a lot about Mother and Daddy. Mother was forty-eight when I was born, and Daddy was fifty-four. By the time I was in elementary school, Daddy had retired. He and mother kept children at home. Because Mother and Daddy were older when I was born, I'm sure that their energy level was pretty low by the time I came along. Because of this, all of my brothers and sisters pitched in to help raise me.

A couple of months before Mother died, I went to live in Raleigh with Oliver and Julia. I stayed there for about three years. At the time, they had one son, Ken. They welcomed me into their home, and I came to feel a part of their family. Believe it or not, Oliver taught me how to drive while I was there. Maybe that's why I wrecked his VW. On the other hand, my expertise in driving has served me well throughout my career as a long-distance truck driver.

While in Raleigh, I spent a lot of time with Milton, who lived close by. For a short time, I worked with him at the K&W Restaurant in North Hills, where he was the manager. I traveled to Greensboro to spend weekends with Shirley and James, and to Charlotte to spend time with Glenn and Patsy. I also spend many weekends and one summer with Bobby and Nancy in Rocky Mount. One summer, I worked for J.D. at his shop, M and W Used Parts.

In November, 1970, I returned to Rocky Mount to live with Margaret and Edd. Margaret and Edd became like a mother and daddy to me. I stayed there until Jenelle and I were married on December 29, 1974. On May 26, 1980, our son, Thomas Lee Williams, was born.

The one thing that stands out in my mind about growing up, and coming to where I am now, is how much my brothers and sisters mean to me. Words cannot express my thanks to each of them for the part they had in raising me. Without their help, I would not be where I am today.