WASHINGTON, D.C., June 26, 2019 — I spoke to my “sister-in-law” Edith Fowler this morning after finding out about the death of my brother, Oswald “Big O” Fowler, and asked her to look through her picture files and send me a photo with Big O and myself to help reduce some of the pain I have been experiencing as a result of his death by reflecting of some of the good times we had during my visits to Philadelphia, where they lived, in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Edith is a retired Philadelphia Police detective, and in keeping with her training, she just emailed me this photo of Big O and myself that unclogged the floodgate of tears that started this morning when my friend Jim Storr called me from Florida, where Big O and Edith retired after they left Philadelphia, and informed me that Big O had died.
As I write this, I am vehemently fighting back tears as I vicariously reflect on the wonderful times we had hanging out in Philadelphia. I was the best man at Big O’s and Edith’s wedding on January 12, 1979, and this photo was taken at their wedding reception. I am also the godfather of their daughter Alicia, and I still carry a photograph of my goddaughter, who is now in her early forties, in my wallet.
