I just received a surprise phonecall from Kimberly, Wilbur Streett's
oldest child. She is 18. (Julia is now
7 and Nicholas is 4.) We spoke of Fathers Day 2003, when I saw Wilbur and Julia in Washington, D.C.
"I was not allowed to see him that Fathers Day," she said sadly.
     But during the rest of the conversation, Kimberly grew strong. She wasjust a delight. She adored her
Dad. "I'll never love anyone as much as I loved him," she said. "He was the best person I've ever known." And then she added, "But for him, I wouldn't have seen the beauty of the world."
     She spoke of his dedication to fathers' rights. He said he had to
change the world. That was his favorite song, Eric Clapton's "Change the World."
     She wants to hear from all his friends. He had a feeling of commitment. He told her, "Don't give up."
She said, "That is something he would never do."
     "Oh, tell everyone, he was not arrested in a wheelchair." She was convinced that her Dad would not let that happen. He would stand proud. "The courts killed him, you know."
     "Yes, I, too, believe they did. All that stress exacerbated his illness." (Lou Gehrig's.)
     "It all began when they arrested him and beat him," she insisted.
     Kimberly said she would have called and written folks, but her grandparents took Wilbur's cellphone, which had everyone's number in it. She knew where to find mine. She wished she had Bob Cheney's phone number. He and her Dad were good friends.
     "They (her grandparents) wouldn't even let me attend his Memorial
Service." But, thankfully, they gave
her Wilbur's computer.
     Lots of folks are calling her grandparents, but they do not want the calls. She, on the other hand, does not want her Dad to be forgotten, so, folks, she wants to hear from everyone. Her Dad called her every day, and she misses that special phone call. "On the 12th, when I didn't get it, I knew something was wrong."
     That young woman-child needs lots of support at this time. She is charming to speak to . . . upbeat. Wilbur, clearly, must have been an absolutely wonderful father to make such a wonderful person as his daughter Kimberly.

Thank you,
Barbara