Black History Month is about recognizing the achievements, the impacts and the impressions that Black people have made on our society. As you know I’ve flipped it a bit and chose to focus only on those in my family. Today I honor my My Uncle Eric William Wideman. Eric is a testament to what making a commitment to self help and health looks like. Sometimes in life, we make childhood choices that end up having detrimental effects on our adulthood. Eric is a living example of how wrong can turn into a beautiful right. I admire him so much and I’m proud of the man he has become and what he means to our family. In 2013, I wrote a post about my Uncle for Fathers Day that included an excerpt from my unpublished book. Here is a portion of that piece.
“Growing up I was surrounded by my aunts and uncles who were teenagers. I was like the little sister, the doll, the tangible asset they could play with, protect and teach. The pictures of my toddler years show a young me always smiling, yet desperately hanging onto my family members. Whether it’s a picture of me holding my uncle Brian’s foot, or one of me standing next to my aunt Pam I was a big part of my family. One of my fondest memories is of me going to the track with my uncle Eric. Eleven years older than me, he would put my tricycle in the trunk and put our dog in the backseat. Prior to 1988, car seats were not mandatory so it was nothing for me to sit in the front seat with my uncle when he drove the mile or so to his high schools field. Once on the track he set me up to ride. Try as I may I never was able to ride fast enough to catch him and Tamu our dog on the track. It was so much fun trying though. Eric was my best friend. He was the type of guy that played barbies, watched scary movies, combed my hair, brought me ice cream and did everything a father should do with their daughter, except he was my teenage uncle."
“Growing up I was surrounded by my aunts and uncles who were teenagers. I was like the little sister, the doll, the tangible asset they could play with, protect and teach. The pictures of my toddler years show a young me always smiling, yet desperately hanging onto my family members. Whether it’s a picture of me holding my uncle Brian’s foot, or one of me standing next to my aunt Pam I was a big part of my family. One of my fondest memories is of me going to the track with my uncle Eric. Eleven years older than me, he would put my tricycle in the trunk and put our dog in the backseat. Prior to 1988, car seats were not mandatory so it was nothing for me to sit in the front seat with my uncle when he drove the mile or so to his high schools field. Once on the track he set me up to ride. Try as I may I never was able to ride fast enough to catch him and Tamu our dog on the track. It was so much fun trying though. Eric was my best friend. He was the type of guy that played barbies, watched scary movies, combed my hair, brought me ice cream and did everything a father should do with their daughter, except he was my teenage uncle."
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