Teacher Takes In A Teen, And Gains A Family
Ralph Catania with Colbert Williams in Ann Arbor, Mich. -
Just before he became a father, Colbert Williams left home because his family was too poor to take care of him. As he remembers it, "My mother didn't have a place for me to go."
Williams and his son discussed their strong bond at StoryCorps in Michigan. But in a "prequel" of sorts, Williams also spoke with the man who took him in as a teenager — his fifth-grade math teacher, Ralph Catania.
Catania, 69, was divorced and had no children of his own. He became Williams' legal guardian when his former student turned 16.
"Was there anything that you feared about moving in with me?" Catania asked.
"Oh my gosh, are you kidding me?" Williams said. "Everything."
And he really does mean everything — from what kind food Catania kept in the house to his culture and background. All Williams really knew about the man he was moving in with was that he was a nice teacher.
"I'm a young black man and you're a white man," Williams said. "And I'm like, 'I don't know anything about white people.' "
Then Williams asked Catania about his thoughts after learning that Williams, then 16, was going to become a father.
"My first reaction was, there isn't too much I can do about it."
But he was impressed with something Williams said: "My son is going to know who his father is."
It wasn't easy, of course. There's the night Williams was up late studying for an exam, and his son was sick and hungry. As he started to give the baby some milk, fatigue got the better of Williams.
"I forget to put the top on top of the bottle, and I just hand him milk — and milk just spills," he said.
The arrival of Williams' son, Nathan, was perhaps the most emphatic sign that Catania's previous life, in which he lived alone, had been changed for good.
"I have truly been blessed. There's no other way to explain it," Catania said.
"What you see in me is a reflection of what you put in me. So today I say, thank you."
Catania said that he's heard that from other people that he did a great job helping raise Williams. But still, he doesn't fully agree.
"I truly believe that a lot of this comes from within you, and within your soul, my friend," he told Williams.
"Any parent would be extremely proud of a child that has accomplished what you have accomplished."
Produced for Morning Edition by Vanara Taing. The senior producer for StoryCorps is Michael Garofalo. Recorded in partnership with WUOM.
9(MDAyNzUwMDI2MDEyNTA3MTU5NzcyNTQyNA004))
STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
And we're going to listen, right now, to another conversation from StoryCorps. We're going to dig a little more deeply into one man's story. Last week, we heard a conversation from Michigan, between Colbert Williams and his son, Nathan. Colbert Williams was just 16 when his son was born.
M: Is there anything you always wanted to tell me but haven't?
M: I'm proud of you 'cause you're a really good father.
M: Wow.
INSKEEP: It wasn't easy for Colbert Williams to be a good father. Just before he became a father at age 16, he left home because his family was too poor to take care of him. Today, we meet the man who took Colbert in: his fifth- grade math teacher, Ralph Catania. Ralph, who was divorced with no children of his own, became Colbert's legal guardian.
M: Was there anything that you feared about moving in with me?
M: Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Everything. I didn't know what kind of food you ate. I didn't know your background. All I knew is that you were a nice teacher, and you were going to take me in because my mother didn't have a place for me to go. So, I was very thankful for that, but I didn't have any idea as to what to expect from you.
I'm a young black man, you're white man, and I'm like, I don't know anything about white people. And then the fact that I knew that a baby was coming. When you found out I was going to be a father, what were some of your thoughts going through your head?
M: Well, my first reaction was, there isn't too much I can do about it. I think the thing that impressed me the most was your comment: My son is going to know who his father is. And watching you walk past the waiting room at the hospital and him cradled in your arms, I will never forget that.
M: I remember nights studying for an exam and he's sick, and I'm trying to feed him at 3 o'clock in the morning, or so tired that I forget to put the bottle top on top of the bottle, and I just hand him milk - and milk just spills.
How have we impacted your life, Ralph?
M: My gosh. You know, when you're single for a great period of time, you become basically set in your own ways. Then somebody else comes along and sometimes there was a little bit of conflict, but I have truly been blessed. There is no other way to explain it.
M: What you see in me is a reflection of what you put in me. And today I say, thank you.
M: I hear many times from people that know you, they say, oh, you have just done wonderful things with this young man. But I truly believe that a lot of this comes from within you and within your soul, my friend. Any parent would be extremely proud of a child that has accomplished what you have accomplished.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
INSKEEP: Colbert Williams with the man who was his math teacher and then his legal guardian, Ralph Catania, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Their conversation will be archived along with all the other StoryCorps interviews, at the Library of Congress, and you can get the Podcast at NPR.org.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
INSKEEP: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
