Black Male of the Month: Theadore Scott

I stumbled upon your website in hopes to find commentary about Black relationships for a class I'm taking, but I found this link instead. Theodore Scott, in my opinion, is the most patient and loving Black man I know. He's 48 years old, stands 6'1" and weighs, let's say 300 lbs, and truly is a gentle giant.

I find that he is always doing someone a favor; he lends tools to our neighbors and helps eldery neighbors with their household chores. He always has a kind word for those who smile in his direction, probably because he's glad that people aren't intimidated by his size.

Teddy has been married to his wife for over 22 years and has helped raise a daughter who is a senior in an expensive and prestigous pharmacy school. I think Teddy's most important roles are husband and father because he totally devotes himself to his family.

I remember during the Christmas season, years ago, a friend of mine told me that he saw Teddy on 63rd st carrying a Christmas tree on his back. Why would he be carrying such a heavy load home through piles of snow? In November, Teddy's car died and he found himself traveling on public transportation. He dragged the tree all the way to 60th St, where he lives, because his family had never celebrated Christmas without a tree before.

Teddy makes many sacrifices for his family because he feels that he is obligated to carry the weight of their troubles on his shoulders. Teddy worked three jobs when he first got married in order to put a down payment on his home and support his wife who was pregnant with his first child. Teddy has gotten out of his bed, in the middle of the night, on a couple occasions, so that he could give his daughter a ride home when her car gave out on her.

Teddy also dropped everything that he was doing at work in order to check in on his eldery mother, who had experienced a gas leak in her kitchen. I'm sure these things don't seem like a big deal but when we needed a man to look out for us, he has always been there.

Nevertheless, Teddy looks after his family while he looks for work on a daily basis. In the past 4 years, he has been downsized in 3 different companies, not to mention being layed off from the company he worked for for close to 20 years. He struggles to make ends meet while his wife tries to support the family with only her income.

Last year, Teddy was diagnosed with diabetes and he got depressed thinking that he would be unable to provide for his family because of his sickness. He started a rigid diet and exercise plan so that he could get his blood sugar close to normal as soon as possible so he could continue to look for work. When many leads for jobs fell through, he didn't turn to alcohol when he felt low, he turned to Jesus. I listened to Whitney Houstan's "The Preacher's Wife" soundtrack on many mornings when Teddy got up early to make breakfast for his wife before she left for work.

Teddy doesn't have to wear a big letter "S" on his chest in order for him to be my hero because he encourages me to continue my studies in pharmacy school even though I failed a major course last fall. School is very expensive and even though he can't afford to send me to school, he finds a way out of now way to get my school supplies. He believes in me and tells me that I can achieve anything I want as long as I stay focused, and for that I am very thankful.

Many of my friends are not close to their fathers like I am, and they envy me. My father has never said anything negative to me, ever. Even when he scolded me as a child, it sounded more like he was trying to reason with me as a peer instead of a parent. My mother is my disciplinarian and my father is my counselor. I never hesitate to go talk to Dad about anything, and I do mean anything, because he has an open mind and a big heart. There aren't many daughters who can say that their fathers are their bestfriend!

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