Will on His Granddaughter, Nia

“I’ve lived in DC for about 50 years. I came here, alone, at 15 to live with my sister and to attend Cardozo High School. I spent my career here as a police officer. Now, I am retired and get to spend all of my time with my granddaughter, Nia. She is my first grandchild and we have a very special relationship.

“Every day, we go out walking in the city. We leave home at 8:15 a.m. and go out walking until about 12:30 p.m. We go to the zoo and spend time looking at birds and plants. I just love to be with her and let her know that she has someone close to her. Today, we are going to read together about birds.

“Nia loves DC, too. This is such a diverse city, much different than the DC I grew up in, so that is what I am showing her. We enjoy walking and talking with all kinds of people and waving at them and getting to know different folks.

“I remember my close relationship with my great-grandmother. She lived to be 117-years-old. This was in Georgia on the Chattahoochee River. It was wonderful down there. It was like a different world. Everything was fresh and nice, there was no pollution. You could drink water from the streams and eat the wild fruit that grew everywhere. 

"My great-grandmother was wonderful and she always took care of all of us. She was the matriarch of the whole area and the midwife for me when I was born. She used to sit outside of the sycamore tree in her front yard and watch all of the kids play. She always taught me to the do the best I can and don’t worry about nothing else. I am trying to do the same for Nia.”