At Wilberforce University, the third week in May was quite exciting in Ohio because the physical education department had their outdoor exhibition and the gym team was a big attraction. We practiced hard, especially when our girlfriends were watching. Most of my senior year, I was living off campus at our homestead. We were also on a strict diet during this time.
The day of the exhibit was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Everything went well. My Aunt Effie was among the spectators, and there was a huge turnout that evening. My Aunt Effie said to Aunt Sarah, “I had no idea that Billy was so good at these gymnastic things.” I smiled as if it was nothing, but what a day. I also had met the young sister of one of my best friends and the daughter of Dr. James Robinson, dean of the sociology department. She was one of the spectators. She was a sophomore and I had been escorting her to some of the affairs on the campus. I was sort of free at that time and told her brother, my friend, I would sort of look out for her -– but back to that day on the campus.
That big day was not quite o ver. My fraternity was having their Spring dance that night. I was on the committee to decorate the gym and we were out in the woods gathering green shrubbery and plants for decorations. The school is in a very country area.
I had dinner after that, dressed for the dance and went to the dorm to pick up my date, my friend’s sister. She had to sign out of her dorm, write down where she was going, and the approximate time that she would return. What a day so far. – We arrived at the dance and sat at a table near the orchestra. I enjoyed sitting there listening to the music. The Collegians, my band, were playing. They sounded very good. I had taken a night off from the orchestra. We had an excellent bass player who took my place when necessary.
It was relaxing to sit there with good friends and my friend, Jimmy and his sister. What a day – a successful gymnastic exhibition, a good dinner, a trip out in the woods with the frat brothers, and now a time to relax at the Alpha phi Alpha Ball with friends. Although some of the guys would find a way to get their choice of drinks and have them before and after, or during an affair like this, it was seldom discovered by school officials. However, the brothers had some non-alcoholic beverages at the table. I didn’t try to bring any drinks. Not that I would not mind a little, but I didn’t have the money, the connection, or the time for that. And being with Dr. Robinson’s daughter, I would not indulge if I could. So I decided to have a few sips of the juice on our table. It was very tart, but okay.
After ten or fifteen minutes, my stomach started cramping and I was so sick, I couldn’t stand up and walk. The fellows at our table realized that my condition was serious and with one on each side, and my arms over their shoulder, they half-walked and half-carried me out. I’m sure that everyone thought that I was drunk.
I don’t know how I got to the house, which was about a twenty minutes walk from the campus. Very few students had a car of their own. My guess is that some teacher, maybe a fraternity brother provided a car – I’m sure that I was driven to the house.
Aunt Sarah, who was never married, was always the one to help us four boys when help was needed. She could see right away that my condition was serious. My oldest brother was there. He was an assistant teacher in the biology department. Frank sort of took over and got me to bed.
I guess they both thought that I had been drinking, especially Aunt Sarah – but neither of them knew if I had been in this condition before. The question was how serious was my condition.
They called the school doctor. He came in a short time. He told them that I was bilious and I think he told them it was probably from the tart juice that I had, plus something I had eaten for dinner that was off (not fresh). He was probably right. He gave me medication and by the next afternoon I felt okay, except that I felt a little weak and had lost so much liquid in my system. My whole body seemed to have shrunk by 30 or 40 pounds, and I looked like a ghost, but in spite of that, I decided to go back to the campus. The house wasn’t really home to me. The campus was “home” and the house was mainly for eating and sleeping. I immediately went to see my date, Dr. Robinson’s daughter, to explain what happened to me. I sent word to her and waited for her to meet me in front of her dorm.
When she finally came out, she looked at me and said nothing. We walked around to the right side of the dorm. There was a bench made of cinder blocks with a flat piece of slate on top. We sat there and talked a little I told her that the doctor said that I was bilious from too tart food mixing with perhaps, food that was not fresh.
She handed me a white envelope sealed with a message inside. I looked at her beautiful eyes, and saw a tear in one eye. I had the envelope in my hand – I reached down and put the sealed envelope in an opening in front of the bench that we were sitting on. I never read it. We walked around for quite awhile. When we got back to the dorm I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Reading my lips, she said, “Okay.” If that bench is still there, so is the envelope.
That night I sat in my bed with pen in hand and wrote a Dear John letter to a previous girlfriend. Four years later I married my wife and we had two children and were happily married for 68 years!!
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