We don’t really talk about our good neighbors. They are the ones that are usually unappreciated. The good neighbors are simply taken for granted. We most often talk about the bad neighbors. 

We consider a neighbor bad if they have a bad lawn, play loud music, have a barking dog, and keep long hours and hosts loud and frequent parties. A good neighbor is the opposite of all of the above. 

For fifteen years I had as a neighbor Mr. Charles Williams. He and his wife, Mrs. Irene Williams were great neighbors.  When Debra and I moved next door to them in 1988 we soon learned that we had “big shoes” to fill. At one point Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King had the honor of being their neighbor. I had many conversations with Mr. Williams about the Kings. 

A few weeks ago I received a call that Mr. Williams was in Jackson hospital. I hurried over to visit with him. When I entered the room his niece and son were already in attendance. The four of us had a great visit. I was certain that Mr. Williams would pull through. I was mistaken. Mr. Charles Williams, age 84 passed away on July 3, 2008 leaving behind his lovely wife of 55 years, Mrs. Irene Bell Culver Williams, children: Bobby Lee Williams, Jacqueline Simpson and Normarene Merritt. Other survivors included many grandchildren and great grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. 

Mr. Charles Williams was a man filled with the joy of living. He was a husband, a father, and my neighbor. For myself, I could not have asked God for a better neighbor. I didn’t need a burglar alarm for years because it always seemed as though Mr. Williams was looking out his side window or sitting on his front porch. 

I am a personal witness to the fact that he loved his wife, Mrs. Irene Williams more than life itself. He was resourceful, optimistic and could put anything together. So in common with those who delivered speeches at his funeral---I bespeak for my wife, Debra and my children, Greg Jr. Alexis and Chris our deepest sympathy to his family and friends on this terrible bereavement, and thank God for the opportunity to live next door to the world’s greatest neighbor. May God rest his glorious soul!

In the words of my dad, “If these gas prices get any higher I am going to buy me a horse!”