Fred is befriended by Will, an old African-American man. Will teaches the young boy about life; the things we don’t learn about in school, typical family life. The odd pair becomes close.

Will taught Fred how to tell if a watermelon is ripe.  He also taught him why vines attach themselves to things (they are afraid).

One day, while young Fred was riding with his uncle on a wagon, Will’s path crossed the other two. The young boy, Fred, acknowledged his good friend, “Sir.”

The next thing Fred knew, he was laying on the ground, flat on his back, staring up at the big blue Tennessee sky.

Fred’s uncle stood over him with anger in his eyes, “If I ever hear you call a nigga ’sir’ again, I’ll kill you myself.”

Fred would grow up to be a great preacher. He would preach in pulpits all across America that in Christ there is no longer “Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, black or white.” But it would take him some time to develop more meaningful and deeper relationships with those of different ethnic backgrounds. In a famous lecture on preaching, Fred told the audience, “The longest journey in the world is the distance from the head to the heart.” He knew, in his head, what was true, but his heart was still lacking.