(2/5) “Just as I was getting ready to retire a storefront became...

(2/5) “Just as I was getting ready to retire a storefront became available next to my brownstone. I said: ‘Oh Lord, I’m in trouble. They’re going to open up a fish-and-chip joint, or something wild like that.’ And I didn’t want that smelly thing. Not next to my brownstone. Not during my retirement. So one morning I woke up at 4:44 AM, like I always do. And I started talking to God, like I always do. I said: ‘God, what should we do about that storefront?’ And he gave me an idea,  to open up a literacy center. I knew it was something the community needed. During all my years of teaching second grade, I’d met a lot of parents who couldn’t read. And their children were the ones who struggled the most. So I thought: ‘Let’s create a safe place where these parents can learn to read.’ Only problem was I didn’t have any money. I was on a teacher’s salary. But I closed my eyes, and I really pictured that literacy center. I thought hard about it. I could see the reading groups. I could see those happy kids. But when the day came to sign the papers, I got shaky. So I did what I always do when I’m feeling shaky: I called Winslow the pharmacist. I’ve known Winslow since I was nineteen. He owned the pharmacy next door to my very first apartment. I was young. I was all alone. So every night I’d stop in the pharmacy and sit at the soda fountain. Winslow always came over and talked to me. He never flirted with me, or anything like that. He’d always sit a few seats away. But he showed an interest. He’d ask me about my life. He gave me advice. He became like a father to me. And for the next sixty years, whenever I’ve felt unsure about something, I call Winslow. That day I called him up. I told him: ‘Winslow, I can’t do it. I can’t run a literacy center all by myself.’ But Winslow steadied me. He told me he’d be there for advice. He told me that he’d chip in if I ever got in trouble. But more important than that, he told me that he admired me for having the idea. He said: ‘Dawn, you’re doing something important. And you’re the right person to do it.’ He made me feel special. And God knows, that’s something this black woman needed very much.’”