Ms. West: Who was
Count Basie?
Dr. Parker: Count
Basie was the bandleader who left Red Bank and went to Kansas City and
had one of the most famous bands in the land. He was born here on
Mechanic Street in Red Bank. His aunt was my babysitter when I was a
youngster. My father was born in Aiken, South Carolina in 1888. His father, Stafford Parker, was born in slavery. He married an
ex-slave named Josephine James and they moved to Jacksonville, Florida. My father had two brothers. One became a dentist in
Englewood, New Jersey and the other became a pharmacist in Hampton,
Virginia. My uncle in Hampton, Virginia was a track star; he graduated from
Columbia University in New York. He taught track at Hampton University
and opened up his pharmacy in Hampton for many years. So actually I'm
proud of the fact that three boys born of slave parents were able to
finish school and become professionals. Each brother had two children. My
sister finished Howard University a year after I did and married a music
professor who went to Howard, and he became the music director at Union
University in Richmond, Virginia, and my sister was the music director of choirs in Richmond,
Virginia until she died. She has a daughter, who is my niece; she teaches at Virginia State in communications at the present time.
Ms. West: Is that a
college or a university?
Dr. Parker: Virginia State
University. When I was in high school, I had the advantage over most youngsters
my age because my father was a doctor. I can remember the Depression of
1929. I was ten years old in 1929, and I can remember grown men standing
in line to receive food from food kettles. I can remember walking along
the railroad track in Red Bank to pick up coal to put in the furnace.
My first job was with an auto repair person who was a patient of my father.
My father got me the job, and I would simonize two cars a day for the
salary of five dollars a week. And I can remember that. I used to pick
apples as a youngster on the farms around Red Bank, particularly in Middletown,
and compete with the older men when I would climb the ladder. I picked
the apples for a penny and a half a bushel.
Ms. West: Was it
mostly farm area around here?
Dr. Parker: When I
was a youngster, yes, it was farmland all around Red Bank. My father and
mother built a house and they called it out in the country, which was on
Sycamore Avenue in Tinton Falls, and now it is a built up community. But
in those days that was considered out in the country.
Ms. West: Were there any people in Monmouth County
who had any
particular influence in your life?
Dr. Parker: My
father had the most influence in my life. And there were quite a few
people, too, older people in Red Bank who influenced me.
Ms. West: And how?
Dr. Parker: There
was a dentist by the name of Dr. Dabney who was the first Black dentist
I think probably in Monmouth County. My godfather was Dr. E.A. Robinson
who was a physician in Asbury Park. In fact, when I was a youngster, we
did not have access to the hospitals in Red Bank. I was born on Bank
Street here in Red Bank, and my father delivered me. My sister was born in
my house on Shrewsbury Avenue and Dr. Robinson delivered her. And my
father delivered most of his patients at home. It wasn't until I came
back from the Korean War in 1953 that I was able to deliver patients in
Monmouth Medical Center.
Ms. West: Were you able to admit patients to Monmouth Medical Center?
Dr. Parker: Not at
that time, not before - there was not a Black doctor on the staff of
Monmouth Medical Center or Riverview Hospital. At that time Riverview
Hospital was a little house. And I can remember there was a doctor by
the name of Dr. Hazard who had a small hospital on Washington Street in
Long Branch and that's where Black women had their babies.
Ms. West: Well, if
a Black person had an illness that warranted hospitalization, where did he go?
Dr. Parker: You treated them
mostly at home. If they went to a hospital, you had to refer them to a
white doctor.
Ms. West: So was this something that was going on throughout the
county?
Dr. Parker: As far as
I know, because there were not Black doctors on the staff at Fitkin Hospital,
which is known now as Jersey Shore Medical Center, and there were none
on the staff at Monmouth Medical Center - in fact, the only Black doctor
in Long Branch was Dr. McKelvie. The Black doctors in Asbury Park at that
time were Dr. Joe Carter, Dr. E.A. Robinson. Dr. Parks preceded all of
them at that time, and my father here in Red Bank; they were the only
Black doctors in Monmouth County. And none of them were on the staff at
any hospital.
Ms. West: How do
you see medicine today as opposed to back then?
Dr. Parker: Oh, it's
much improved. I can remember, of course I remember medicine before
antibiotics. I graduated from medical school at Howard University in
1944. I did my internship at Freeman's Hospital and I can remember when
penicillin, the first true antibiotic came out in the early 1940s. When
I started practicing medicine in Red Bank, about 1947, I can
remember having a patient with meningitis who I treated at home.
Ms. West: Not in a
hospital.
Dr. Parker: Not in a
hospital. My father never delivered a baby in the hospital and he
practiced from 1919 until he died in 1973. He practiced almost until the
day he died.
Ms. West: Here in
the town of Red Bank.
Dr. Parker: Here in
the town of Red Bank.
Ms. West: So then
it really hasn't been that long, when you think in terms of time, that
the Black physicians could use the services of the hospitals here in the
county.
Dr. Parker: That's
true. I can remember when I was invited to join the staff, I remember
like it was yesterday. I'd come back from Korea, I'd been practicing
about five years and I had my last year in medical school under the ASTP
program -
Ms. West: What does
that stand for?
Dr. Parker: I don't really
know, but I was in the Army, I graduated, and they needed doctors during
World War II, and I was in medical school during World War II, and they
were all drafted in the Army as medical students. I received my last year
of medical school as a private first class in the Army.
Ms. West: Private
first class.
Dr. Parker: Yes. And
when I graduated from medical school, I graduated as a second
lieutenant. And when I was finished and doing my residency, the war came
to an end. I did my residency in a community hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.
And when the armistice was declared, I resigned my commission at the
completion of the war, came back to Red Bank and started practicing. The
Korean Conflict broke out -
Ms. West: What year
was that, do you recall?
Dr. Parker: In 1950.
Because I had received my education, my last year of medical school in
the Army, I was subject to draft in the military. I either had to
volunteer or be drafted, so I volunteered and was sent to Brook Army
Hospital in San Antonio, Texas and received my army training and within
two months I was in Korea. And I stayed there for two years, and then
rotated to Japan, where I was in hospitals in Tokyo, Yokohama, and
Osaka. And when I returned home, after getting out of the Army, I had had quite
a lot of experience overseas. I was in a battalion aide station. I
gave a lecture at the hospital here in Red Bank, Riverview, and I was
invited to join the staff.
Ms. West: What year
was that?
Dr. Parker: 1953 or 1954.
Ms. West: Were
there any Black physicians on the staff, or were you the first one?
Dr. Parker: No. I was the
first Black physician.
Ms. West: On the
staff of Riverview Hospital -
Dr. Parker: And
Monmouth Medical Center.
Ms. West: And
Monmouth Medical. Riverview now is a part of Meridian
Systems, which is a conglomerate of many hospitals.
Dr. Parker: I and
Dr. Wiley, who was a practicing physician in Red Bank at that time, both
joined the staff at Monmouth Medical Center about the same time.
Ms. West: How were
you all accepted at the hospital with the staff itself?
Dr. Parker: All right.
No problem. My father's practice was mainly white. Because they said in
those days the community would revert to Black. And when I graduated from
Red Bank High School, there were only about six Blacks in my class who
graduated.
Ms. West: Is there
any location here in Monmouth County that has any personal significance
to you?
Dr. Parker: In what
way?
Ms. West: Any way.
Something that has meaning to you.
Dr. Parker: I can
remember things that I would rather forget about Monmouth County, if
that's what you want to hear.
Ms. West: Anything
that you'd like to say.
Dr. Parker: When I was a
student in grammar school in Red Bank, I can
remember that students in Fair Haven, which is only a mile or two from Red Bank, were going to a one room segregated school in Fair
Haven from the kindergarten to the eighth grade and were taught by two teachers.
One teacher's name was Nancy Fields, the other teacher's name was Mr. Horace
Booker. And I hold them in high regard.
Ms. West: Why is
that?
Dr. Parker: Because
they taught those youngsters in Fair Haven as well as any student could
be taught, and prepared them to come to Red Bank High School when they
graduated from the ninth grade in Fair Haven. I have fond memories of
a Mrs. Fields' sister, Mahala Fields, who did the same thing in Reevytown;
she taught all the youngsters who lived in Reevytown and Pine Brook, you
know one school -
Ms. West: What is Reevytown, or where is it?
Dr. Parker: It's a
country town right out between Eatontown and Asbury Park, west of Asbury
Park and west of Eatontown, out in the country. You might not know this,
but Pine Brook was an underground
railroad station. Pine Brook was founded by escaped slaves who intermingled with the
Sand Hill
Indians, and with the families that I grew up with and descendents of
whom I still treat. Those are the people Mahala taught. Mahala Fields subsequently married a Reverend Atchison, and there is a
beautiful school on Sycamore Avenue in Tinton Falls named after Mahala Atchison.
Ms. West: How did Reevytown get its name?
Dr. Parker: From a
family of Reevys.
Ms. West: Was the family connected with the underground
railroad?
Dr. Parker: Part of
it. They settled out there and the large family of Reevys are scattered
all over Monmouth County at the present time. There are Reevys in Fair
Haven, Reeveys in Eatontown. The Richardsons, the McGuires, the Dalhamous,
the Berrys, and all of these people were descendents of escaped slaves.
The church in Reevytown was started by the people who lived out there,
and it was first called, in fact Reevytown. I mean, Pine Brook was called
originally Macedonia, and Macedonia AME Zion Church was established. But
interestingly, before it was established they used to have preachers come
by horseback on Sundays to preach to the residents out there. And
I had the original log of that church. It was given to me by a man by
the name of Peter Rock. Now the Rocks were settled about in that area.
Mr. Rock was the first Black printer in Monmouth County. He was the son
of old man Peter Rock, who was the son of a slave, and he was the first
printer right up here on West Bergen Place here in Red Bank.
Ms. West: The first
printer?
Dr. Parker: The
first Black printer.
Ms. West: The first
Black printer.
Dr. Parker: The
first Black printer here in Monmouth County. And his son was the one who
gave me this log. I can't remember who I gave it
to, but I haven't gotten it back. It's very interesting; it had all the
names of all the parishioners of this church and it's interesting to me
because it gives origins of the families who I've treated for over fifty
years. And I can show them where their lineage is. That was interesting.
Now you asked me some of the interesting things that I did when I was a
kid.
Ms. West: I
was also going to ask you about the physical changes that have taken place
in the county.
Dr. Parker: Terrific
physical changes. I can remember a street car that went right by this
house. And it stopped right here at Newman Springs Road -
Ms. West: Now
you're speaking of a streetcar?
Dr. Parker: A
trolley car -
Ms. West: Okay, I
was going to ask if it ran on a track. Okay. A trolley car.
Dr. Parker: I can remember
that. I can remember the bus was called the Belt Line. And the driver
of the bus was named Mr. Fred Matthews. It would start up here at Newman
Springs Road. I can remember when Shrewsbury Avenue went as far as Newman
Springs Road and then it was a country road. And I can remember the only
way you could get to Asbury Park from Red Bank was to go through West
Long Branch. I can remember before there was such a thing as Highway 35.
Ms. West: Do you recall about what year it was when the trolley
cars were running?
Dr. Parker: It had to be about 1924,
1925, 1926, somewhere in there.
Ms. West: And the
trolley car ran from Newman Springs Road to where?
Dr. Parker: All the
way to Fair Haven.
Ms. West: To Fair
Haven.
Dr. Parker: That was
your means of transportation. I can remember when they had the pumping
station where the trains would get water by the station
down here, where they'd have to pump water into the train -
Ms. West: Were these
are trains traveling interstate?
Dr. Parker: No. Not
interstate. It was just between here and Long Branch and Asbury and
Perth Amboy.
Ms. West: Oh,
you're talking about the railroad chain -
Dr. Parker: There
was no such thing as electric trains, you know that.
Ms. West: Oh, yes,
yes.
Dr. Parker: So the
trains used to have a turntable right down here where
the train would stop here, and then the engineer would turn the train around.
You'd take the engine off and then turn the engine around. We used to go out there and turn the engines around -
Ms. West: Oh,
something like the cable cars in San Francisco?
Dr. Parker: Yes, yes. Then they come on the other end of the train. And then the train
used to have to stop at Perth Amboy because that's when it would become
electric, the electric only came about as far as Perth Amboy. It was a
coal train from here all the way down to the seashore. I can
remember when the ice on the river used to get two feet thick.
Ms. West: Two feet
thick?
Dr. Parker: Yes. Two feet thick.
The airplanes would land on the river.
Ms. West: Airplanes
coming from where?
Dr. Parker: Casey's
field here just above Newman Springs Road where
Shrewsbury Avenue keeps on going now-
Ms. West: Is that
part of Red Bank?
Dr. Parker: No, it's
Tinton Falls.
Ms. West: Oh,
that's Tinton Falls, okay.
Dr. Parker: There'd
be an airplane field there where Casey had a one winged airplane and he
used to fly all over.
Ms. West: Who was
Casey?
Dr. Parker: He was a
pilot. We used to call it Casey's Field. And Casey would take you up if
you wanted to pay him and he'd fly around to look over Red Bank and such -
and often times he would land in people's houses because he couldn't
make the field, and he'd land on the ice, too. Red Bank was the ice boating
capital of Monmouth County at that time. And we used to skate, and every
kid, even during the Depression, had a pair of ice skates and a Flexible Flyer.
Ms. West: Can I ask
you what is a Flexible Flyer?
Dr. Parker: It's a
sled.
Ms. West: Oh, okay.
Dr. Parker: And we
used to take the skates and take a kite and start up there at Newman
Springs Road on the river and sail down the river on your ice skates and
your sled. We'd go down to where Marine Park is where Riverview Hospital
is now. All the way down almost to Fair Haven. And sometimes there were cars out on
the ice when it was so thick.
Ms. West: Really?
Dr. Parker: I'm
telling you. Now winters in the past provided more ice on the river than
in recent years. One winter, in my youth, we had thirty inches of ice on
the river.
Ms. West: That's
two and a half feet!
Dr. Parker: That's
right. That's right. They would rough shod a horse and they'd carry coal
from Red Bank to Fair Haven on the river.
Ms. West: Because
the ice was so thick.
Dr. Parker: That ice
was so thick. And they used to have iceboat regatta on Red Bank's ice -
on Shrewsbury River. We called it Navesink river. I can remember my
neighbor who lived right up the street here. Once when she was down there skating
on the ice, Casey came with that airplane and landed on the ice and the
propeller killed her. Ran right into this woman. Her name was Hannihan, Grace
Hannihan. Her brother tried to save her, and he lost his arm. He died
a few years ago. The
propeller hit her and killed her. Her husband is the one who built this
house.
Ms. West: That's a
nice piece of history.
Dr. Parker: So we
don't see the ice on the river anymore. The
youngsters used to do what the youngsters don't do now; that is they had fun.
Out in the open, on the ice, and in the river. We used to crab, get a
rowboat, go out on the river and crab. We'd spend all day out there, having
fun. When winter came, you'd get on the ice and skate on the river and
you'd have fun. You didn't have to go inside to have fun and do the
things that happen when you come inside. I didn't smoke my first
cigarette until I went away to college, and I didn't know anybody in
high school who smoked. I didn't smoke until I thought I was grown, when
I went away to college.
Ms. West: Well,
tell me, speaking of your youth, did you have any favorite radio
programs that you liked to listen to?
Dr. Parker: I
listened to Amos and Andy and all those kind of people.
Ms. West: What kind
of music did you like?
Dr. Parker: I love
music; I'm a music enthusiast. I play the piano.
Ms. West: Yes, you
mentioned that you and your sister took piano lessons.
Dr. Parker: I just
love music.
Ms. West: All kinds
of music?
Dr. Parker: Not this
new jazz; I don't like that. I like music I can hum to and that has some
words to it that have some meaning. I don't like this loud rock and I
don't like what this is supposed to be, new jazz. I don't like that. I
like the old band music. And songs that you can hum and with some
meaning to it.
Ms. West: I know
what you're talking about. What's the first newspaper headline
that you can remember. Something that has stood out in your mind?
Dr. Parker: When
Lindbergh landed in Paris.
Ms. West: Who was Lindbergh?
Dr. Parker: You
don't know who Charles Lindbergh was?
Ms. West: I know
who Charles Lindbergh was, but maybe somebody listening to this, or reading this
someday may
not know.
Dr. Parker: Oh, I
see. He was the first solo plane to go from United States to Europe. He
flew solo from right outside of New York, Long Island somewhere, and
landed in Paris. Everybody knew he had taken off and everybody was
holding their breath to see if he'd make it to Paris. And I can remember
exactly where I was when I heard it. Right out there playing kick the
can out on Leonard Street there, and the word came out that Lindbergh had
landed in Paris.
Ms. West: You
mentioned the game kick the can! Out of all the people I have
interviewed, everybody speaks of hide and go seek and what have you, and in
fact this past Monday I did ask a man I was talking with in West
Long Branch, "Did you ever hear of a game called kick
the can?" And of course he said, "Yes." But of all the
people, nobody ever mentioned it, and this is one of the games that we
used to play all the time. You're the first person who has ever
mentioned it. If you could describe your life as a road map,
how would you describe it?
Dr. Parker: I've
been lucky. A pretty straight road. I've had a good life. I married my first
wife the day after I graduated from medical school. Her name was Alice
Williams; she was from St. Louis, and we went together all the time I
was in college. I married her the day after I graduated from medical
school. We had two sons; she died two years ago. I was married to her
fifty-four years.
Ms. West: Do you
have any grandchildren?
Dr. Parker: Yes, six
grandchildren.
Ms. West: Are your
sons living in New Jersey?
Dr. Parker: Yes.
One's right here with me now, and the other is in Orlando, Florida.
He's in security. I've had my ups and downs, but I've had it easy, and
I've had it enjoyable.
Ms. West: Oh,
that's good. If you could choose a symbol to depict your life, what
symbol would you choose?
Dr. Parker: They
tell me I'm a Taurus and I act like one. They tell me I'm tough. I don't
think I am. After people get to know me, they know I'm not. But
from what they tell me my outward appearance is that I'm too Taurus.
Ms. West: So you
say your appearance is what you belie really. What would you say was
your greatest achievement in life?
Dr. Parker: I've
been on a lot of boards, you know. I was Chairman on the Board of Social
Services in Monmouth County for about sixteen years. And I enjoyed that;
I think I did a lot of good there. I've been rewarded for what I've
done. I've tried to be a good doctor, and I have sympathy for my
patients. I feel their pain, a lot. One of the reasons I feel their pain
is I've had so much of what they've had, and been able to deal with it.
And I'm still maintaining, unless you feel somebody's pain, you don't
know what pain is. You don't know what they're complaining about.
Ms. West: Is your
life different today than what you thought it might have been
as a child?
Dr. Parker: I think
I've been on the road map ever since I was a child. As I told you, my
grandfather was a doctor, my mother's father was a doctor in Winchester,
Kentucky. He was a grand old man. I remember him. So when I was in
grammar school, I was preparing to be a doctor.
Ms. West: And you
boys wanted to be physicians?
Dr. Parker: That's
right.
Ms. West: Was there
anything that you would have liked to accomplish that you haven't?
Dr. Parker: Not in
particular. I wish I could have been able to play more musical
instruments beside the piano, but I broke my arm as a youngster and
there's certain things that I can't do with my left arm.
Ms. West: Do you do
much playing of the piano today?
Dr. Parker: I play a
lot. For my own enjoyment.
Ms. West: So what
would you say would be your legacy to your family?
Dr. Parker: That
they complete that health center up there. I think that would be one -
they have great plans for that health center. And it's for people who
can't afford medical care.
Ms. West: Is this a
building that they are erecting or is this a building that they are
converting?
Dr. Parker: They're
started in a trailer up there, but they plan to purchase a building.
Ms. West: And what
street is that on?
Dr. Parker: It's on
Shrewsbury Avenue.
Ms. West: Shrewsbury and what?
Dr. Parker: It's on
Shrewsbury, right between Catherine Street and River Street on
Shrewsbury Avenue.
Ms. West: What
would you say is your greatest strength?
Dr. Parker: I don't
know that I'm that strong. I like to deal with people. I think I would
have been a good teacher, and I try to teach as I practice medicine. And
my patients will tell you that. And I like to encourage youngsters to
learn. I like to encourage youngsters to prepare themselves for what
they do not know that is ahead of them, and to give them some idea that if
they are not prepared to take opportunities that present themselves to
them, that they are going to have a tough road. Of course a lot of the
youngsters think I talk too much, and I chastise them too much, but I
think somebody has to do it.
Ms. West: Does the state of the world
today bother you?
Dr. Parker: Yes, it
bothers me.
Ms. West: How is
that?
Dr. Parker: Because
I think that too many people live for the day and don't think about
tomorrow. It also bothers me when I look at my immediate surroundings and see how man is
unwittingly greedy. Man is destroying this universe, not this universe,
but this earth. And if we're not careful, it's going to be barren. We
can't do some of the things that we do to ourselves and to our
environment if we plan to preserve it. I'm concerned about that.
Ms. West: If a
youngster, say one of your grandchildren, came to you asking for advice,
what would you tell him or her?
Dr. Parker: First
thing I'd tell them is to read everything that they can. Prepare
yourself. Educate yourself. Because without education, you're lost.
Ms. West: Are your
grandchildren aware of their family history?
Dr. Parker: They're aware
of it. I don't know whether they appreciate it or not. I don't think youngsters
realize, particularly our youngsters, and when I talk about our youngsters
I mean Black youngsters, realize from whence they have come. And I didn't
until I was grown. I wasn't a stupid kid, but I wasn't aware of a lot
that I should have been aware of had I only been taught. My greatest awakening
was when I went to Charleston, South Carolina. My former wife had a class
reunion; she attended college in Alabama, at Talladega before she went
to Howard, and some of the students that went to school with her in Talladega
had a reunion in Charleston, South Carolina, and I grudgingly went to
this reunion. One of the things that we did when we were in South Carolina
was to go to the meeting place center; it's a theater in South Carolina,
where they showed the history of Charleston. As you know, Charleston was
one of the slave markets. And there were about maybe twenty of us Blacks
in that theater, filled with whites, and they gave the documentary of
Charleston. And they gave credit to the Black slaves who did all that
architectural work in Charleston. All that iron work that survives today,
all the stained glass windows that are in those churches in Charleston,
that withstood the Hugo hurricane, were built by Blacks. The program gave
credit to the Blacks for teaching farmers how to plant rice, which is
a staple in South Carolina. As far as I knew, and I told you I was good
in history, the staple in South Carolina was cotton, and I came to find
out it was rice. They gave credit to a Black slave for inventing the indigo
dye industry in Charleston. They gave all that. I walked out of there
with my chest high.
Ms. West: I know
you did.
Dr. Parker: I didn't
know those things, and none of our kids know them. A lot of our youngsters
are down on Black churches right now. And a lot of them don't go to church
because they think it's beneath them, that there's just a lot of singing
and whooping and hollering. They don't know that if it weren't for the
churches, the slaves could not have made it. And I still say that a lot
of the reason that Blacks have a different high blood pressure than whites
is because of suppressed hostility. And it's almost about to be proved
that that is true. We have discovered that there is a hormone produced
in the kidneys that's sensitive to Blacks that doesn't necessarily apply
to whites. The angio tension converting enzyme Ace, and that's why Ace
inhibitors are better for Blacks with hypertension than whites with hypertension.
They don't realize what Blacks have had to go through to reach where we
are today. And they will never know unless they study and learn. Unless
someone tells them. Because they start from here, not realizing what it
took to get them to this place. Now they have advantages that their fore
parents never even thought possible. And they're not taking advantage
of it.
Ms. West: That's
the sad part of it all, not taking advantage.
Dr. Parker: It is. And
I give youngsters the devil, particularly young Blacks. They wouldn't
any more want a white person, white boy to beat them playing basketball
then the man on the moon. They just assume, they know they're better.
Basketball players. It's evident by what you see on TV. They practice;
they fight like mad to be better.
Ms. West: But
there's academics.
Dr. Parker: Those
same youngsters don't care whether they're better in the classroom.
Ms. West: That's
because they're not taught. That stems from the home; their parents
should be teaching them.
Dr. Parker: Of
course. But you see, the advantages are out there, but you can only take
advantage of something if you're prepared to accept it, or receive it.
Ms. West: Oh, yes,
and only what they're exposed to. People need encouragement. They should be
getting it.
Dr. Parker: When you
ask me about some of the things I'm concerned about, it's also the money that
they're making. And not doing anything with it. Now we have that club
right there, Monmouth County Men's Club. We went to Trump Castle and
stayed overnight. It's the first time I've ever been to Trump Castle; we stayed at the Taj Mahal. Glamour. Doors made of marble, chandeliers
big as this room. Now we went there to spend our money. You got Blacks
making millions of dollars now, and they don't own anything. Very little
do we own that we can attract our money. This is what I'm concerned
about. And it disturbs me that they're making all that money and not
spending it wisely.
Ms. West: It
bothers me also.
Dr. Parker: You know
I volunteer at the same church I was christened in eighty-one years ago.
I still go to the same church and I believe do unto others as you'd have
them do unto you.
Ms. West: Dr.
Parker, with that note we will conclude our interview, and I want to thank you
very much.