Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991 TAG: 9102140100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He jogs with it.
Along Alleghany Drive west of Salem, down Givens-Tyler Road past Medeco Security Locks, up U.S. 11/460 against the early morning rush-hour traffic, then back up Butt Hollow Road to home - every morning, Williams faithfully covers a six-mile course.
And ever since war broke out, the 39-year-old guidance coordinator at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem has made the run carrying a full-size U.S. flag.
Why? "I've had a lot of people ask me that," Williams says. "I don't know if I've ever answered worth a hoot."
Being an educator, and a former football and track coach, is part of it.
"I don't know how many former athletes and kids I've had are over there [in the Persian Gulf]," Williams says. "I know we've got eight former football players. Plus, I've got a brother-in-law and two very close friends over there."
Williams was standing in his garage, getting ready to run, the morning after the war started when the idea came to him. "I usually carry this flag when I run on the Fourth of July, my little tribute to the USA's birthday," he says. So why not do it as long as the war's on, too?
"I just wanted to think of a way to support our guys," he says. "This seems an easy way not to get in anybody's way."
Except maybe his own. At first, the flagpole rubbed his collarbone so sore it blistered up in knots. Williams tied a bandage around the pole to cushion it. He also learned to balance the pole against his head when he runs.
When the wind blows, the broad stripes and bright stars may yet wave, but it's all Williams can do to keep them aloft.
"The other morning, it was like a sailboat," Williams says. "By the time I got to Fort Lewis Elementary, it was all I could do to walk."
Running or walking, the response is the same, though. Commuters honk their horns and wave. "My usual crowd," Williams says, amid the taillights' red glare. Once, a trucker even pulled off to the side of the road, rolled down his window and shouted his encouragement.
"It's been a neat experience for me," Williams says. "I didn't think I'd get this kind of response from people. I thought people would say `there's another idiot waving the flag,' but there seems to be a lot of us idiots out there."
by CNB