Dear Momma.

I remember the bad times because that's my nature and that was the last stage of life we shared...but I also remember that the good times existed. I remember not growing up with a father figure in the house and you taking the dual roles the best you possibly could. I remember not being able to shoot a jump shot and you showing me how to follow through with my elbows. I remember not knowing how to approach girls at school and you telling me to show them respect, be yourself and they'll come to you. I didn't realize it then...but my mother made me a man.

I remember that when I didn't know how to fight...you paid for the boxing lessons instead of telling me to turn the other cheek and not get into squabbles and avoid trouble. You knew that as a son raised by only his mother that fighting would be my only way to survive. A lil' dude, barely over 5 feet tall, can't just walk away either he runs and gets chased and eventually caught or he stands his ground, gets knocked down but never gets phucked with again. You understood that. I don't know how you allowed yourself to let your little Prince become a King in such a manner...I guess the times were different. You made a man in an era where men where men and didn't have to resort to the petty cowardice of handling simple arguments with guns. I thank you for that. My mother made me a man.

I remember when your boyfriend tried to lay hands on you...I remember now just how those boxing lessons came in handy. I didn't outright beat him, but he didn't phuck with you anymore and he heeded when I told him that he's no longer welcomed in our home or life. You didn't have me take that training to protect myself; you knew that eventually I'd have to protect us. My mother had a boy and raised me to be a man. I didn't realize it then, but I thank you for it now.

If I didn't tell you then mom, I'm telling the world now...that I love you, always have, and always will.

Anita Williams 8/23/49 - 4/29/02

You birthed a boy and raised a man. And that man is me...Kae Williams