When Tom Parham came to Wilson in 1959 to play basketball for Atlantic Christian (now Barton) College he found many things that he liked.
He spent many years here both as a student and later as a successful tennis coach until eventually moving to Elon College in 1985, where he had more coaching success.
Among the things he liked about Wilson is what he calls "the eastern North Carolina brand of humor."
"People from eastern Carolina just want to laugh," said Parham during an interview last week. "They're not trying to hurt anybody."
He said that people from other parts of the country neither understand nor appreciate the style of humor found here.
While living in Wilson Parham met his future wife, Margaret, a transplanted Canadian, through a friend of his, and their courtship lasted only four days (Tuesday through Friday) before he proposed.
"I thought he was funny, and I guess he thought I was a good audience," Margaret said.
They've now been married for 38 years.
Despite moving to Elon, Parham maintained his close Wilson ties, which helped keep fresh in his mind the memories of time spent here.
"My time in Wilson was great," Parham said. "I met lots of good folks and some really funny ones."
As the humorous stories involving his Wilson friends began to find attentive ears Parham was told by many, "Why don't you write that stuff down," which is exactly what he did.
He started keeping a journal of incidents and people, which led to a book: "Play Is Where Life Is."
Humor was the inspiration for the book, which covers several areas including his childhood as the son of a preacher in Madison, his days at Atlantic Christian and his time at Elon up until 2004 when he retired.
He and Margaret now live at the beach home in Emerald Isle.
Parham says his book "ain't 'War & Peace.'"
Maybe not, but it is much funnier and makes for great reading.
Although the many tales found within the book are hilarious they're even better if you're at least middle-aged and a native Wilsonian, as you'll likely know many of the characters.
"He's always been a storyteller" said his wife.
Tom Parham is holding a book-signing Thursday at 4 p.m. in Wilson Gymnasium at Barton College and if you're looking for a few laughs I recommend stopping by to see him.
You might even meet a few of the characters in the book, some of whom might now be your neighbors.
barnes@wilsontimes.com. | 265-7855