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What My Father Taught Me
“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” — Billy Graham
It has been 33 years since my father passed away and went to be with the Lord. I often imagine what he would have looked like as an elderly man with gray hair. Even though he has been gone for many years, I frequently wonder if he is proud of me. My father, Joe Louis Baylor, was born on February 1, 1938, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was named after the renowned heavyweight boxer Joe Louis Barrow, which is quite serendipitous considering both my father and the famed Joe Louis were raised in sharecropping families. My dad was a generous man, always volunteering for the church, whether it was making barbecue dinners, assisting people with moving, or feeding the homeless. There were times when my mother had to remind him to let others help, fearing he might work himself to death.
My father was an iconic figure; he epitomized the image of a strong black man. Standing at 6'5" and weighing 250 pounds, he had large hands and feet, and his chocolate skin was complemented by a 1990’s Jheri Curl. He wore cowboy boots with everything, embodying the essence of a country man with his deep southern drawl. He affectionately called me “Shell” instead of my full name “Meshell,” likely for convenience over the full pronunciation. He had brothers in Louisiana…
