A Night Watchman

By Charles Henry Orr

The journey of sixty-five years old for an African American male in the United
States has been a rough and rocky endeavor. A discussion of four major topics
of great importance today is critical in explaining the most important factors in
the life of Charles Henry Orr. Father-and-Son Relationships help explain how
Charles and his father interacted and cared about one another in a time where
survival was a challenge. Becoming a man and/or developing into manhood
were not a fast process for Charles; some of the reasons will be highlighted in
this book. The importance of education came to him slow as well and will be
explained. The role of dignity and respect in both of their lives had negative
effects relative to their accomplishments in life.
Fortunately, Charles is still alive and working on some accomplishments
that will contribute to society after he is gone. Soichiro, the founder of Honda,
said, To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and
introspection. In fact, success represents 1% of your work that results from the
99% called failure. Charles Orr has lived through many failures in life, but
the point here is he has always worked on being successful. Webster defines
success as favorable outcomes of desired goals and/or becoming wealthy or
famous. Charles has been successful on the desired outcomes of some of his
goals, but being wealthy and famous is not included. Drawing from Hornsbys
(2004) article titled African Americans in order to put Charless story in a
historical perspective, there are thirty-five million black Americans living
in the United States, accounting for 12 percent of the total population. They
basically came from Western Africa. Without the use of genealogy research,
Charles is sure he is in this group.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 30, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469106496

Charles Henry Orr

Charles Henry Orr was born in Briminingham, Alabama in 1943 into the family of Jim and Mattie Orr. He was the third born. He is presently 65 years old with a birthday in August 2009. He is writing this book as part of his legacy. He has been trying to get educated all of his life and is still trying. This book was written in the third person without any assistance other than editing by the publisher. Charles presently lives in Chicago, Illinois and is employed full time as a Public Safety Officer at DePaul University on the night shift. . This title public safety officer, security officer/security guard represents the same duties as A Night Watchman. This is how this title was derived. He graduated from the university in 2004 with a Masters in Sociology. This is Charles Orr’s second book. The first was his Masters Thesis titled, Homelessness: a Challenge to African American Males, 2005.

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Copyright © 2009 by Charles Henry Orr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

Overview

1943-1963: Father-and-Son Relationship

1963-1983: Becoming a Man

1983-2003: Importance of Education

2003-Present: Health, Aging, Dignity, and Respect

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Dedication

Dedicated to my mother, Mattie Lee Orr. I did not get to know my mother for very long as she departed this world at a young age. I was only three years old when she passed away in 1946. She died very young because she became very sick. Mattie and my father, Jim Henry Orr, were struggling to raise four children in Birmingham, Alabama. This was where her struggle ended and ours began. I did not get to know her very well, but she had to be a good person. Losing my mother so soon in life had a profound effect on me. God must have had a very good reason for taking her away so soon. This was why I have always tried to do well in life. I want her to be proud of me; this book is my way of saying, Thanks, Mattie, for bring me into this world.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank many for allotting me the time to write this book. Seriously, my family has been great by limiting contact with me during this process. This book is written for my brother and my sisters so they can really get to know their father and brother. Some people live their entire life without knowing their family members as well as they should. I hope this book will not only let them know who I am but also who their father was. My sisters’ names are as follows: Mrs. Eva Mae Green, Akron (Ohio); Mrs. Ann Riley (Houston, Texas); and my brother Art Orr (Chicago, Illinois) along with their spouses. DePaul University faculty and staff contributed to the production of this book by encouraging staff members to work on educational activities. This work is my thanks for their indirect help because I am employed as a staff member in the public safety department. My manager and friend, Randy Shire, hired one month before my sixty-fifth birthday, but I have known him since 1999 when I started taking classes at DePaul University. Randy is the manager at the Loop Campus Public Safety Office in downtown Chicago, and I appreciate his support. Some other friends and coworkers are Betty Bell, W. T. Harris, and Larry Reed.

About the Author

Charles Henry Orr was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1943 into the family of Jim and Mattie Orr. He was the third born. He is presently sixty-five years old with a birthday in August 2009. He is writing this book as part of his legacy. He has been trying to get educated all of his life and is still trying. This book was written in the third person without any assistance other than editing by the publisher. Charles presently lives in Chicago, Illinois, and is employed full-time as a public safety officer at DePaul University on the night shift. This title, public safety officer, security officer / security guard, represents the same duties as a night watchman. This is how this title was derived. He graduated from the university in 2004 with a master’s in sociology. This is Charles Orr’s second book. The first was his master’s thesis titled "Homelessness: a Challenge to African American Males, 2005."

Introduction

The journey of sixty-five years old for an African American male in the United States has been a rough and rocky endeavor. A discussion of four major topics of great importance today is critical in explaining the most important factors in the life of Charles Henry Orr. Father-and-Son Relationships help explain how Charles and his father interacted and cared about one another in a time where survival was a challenge. Becoming a man and/or developing into manhood were not a fast process for Charles; some of the reasons will be highlighted in this book. The importance of education came to him slow as well and will be explained. The role of dignity and respect in both of their lives had negative effects relative to their accomplishments in life.

Fortunately, Charles is still alive and working on some accomplishments that will contribute to society after he is gone. Soichiro, the founder of Honda, said, To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents 1% of your work that results from the 99% called failure. Charles Orr has lived through many failures in life, but the point here is he has always worked on being successful. Webster defines success as favorable outcomes of desired goals and/or becoming wealthy or famous. Charles has been successful on the desired