Page 57 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

57 | P A T R I C I A R A E M E R R I T T W H A T L E Y

He trained to enter professional baseball in Ithaca, New York, and he played baseball briefly, but he returned to Florida after a while.
I’m not sure why his sports career wasn’t fruitful. Nevertheless, he remained active in the sports arena. He served as a football referee

at Crooms Academy, where I attended high school. I felt so proud seeing him in that black and white uniform and so did my mother.

In fact, Dad met Mom on a tennis court on Sanford Avenue. I guess the romance that blossomed between them gives credence to his
athletic physique and smooth-talking skills. He was a real player-player (slang in the late 1980s).

My Father was actually a man of many talents, and he excelled in them all, masterfully! He was a philosopher and a storyteller. Like
Jesus, he could tell parables to solidify his points. He was also a true sportsman if ever there was one. He imparted wisdom through

his famous fishing, hunting, golf, football, and baseball stories. Our father was part of everybody’s family – yes, everyone in the

Sanford community. Dad shared his love through his delightful sense of humor and peaceful, yet firm, demeanor and dignity. In his
later years, he was an active member of First Shiloh Baptist Church of Sanford under the leadership of Reverend Dr. Harry D. Rucker.

He attended Bible Study regularly and was installed as a Trustee and Deacon.

The young men in town and the young at heart would listen to my Dad, the storyteller. They would gather in our backyard to hear

him share his stories and expound on them so beautifully! I felt that some of the short and poignant things he said had my name on
them. I always called them “Daddy’s Quotes.”

Quote 1: “It’s only a slip between the cup and the lip.”

My Interpretation: It took me a while to understand this one. Even now, I hope I’ve got its true meaning. It only takes

one mistake to fall from grace. Dad would know for sure!

Quote 2: “All that glitters ain’t gold.”

My Interpretation: Don’t let the jive-time boys fill your head with garbage and cause you to walk into their sex traps!