KERNERSVILLE
Twice a day, Dr. James C. Onyemelukwe (pronounced Ohn-yeh-meh-low-qway) draws attention from passersby as he walks down Hopkins and Old Winston roads.
He wears custom-made dashikis from his native Nigeria. The two-piece cotton suits are made from brightly patterned fabric that billows in the backdraft of passing cars.
"Once in a while, the curious ones will stop and talk. The police have asked if I am OK," said Onyemelukwe, 72, a clinical pathologist.
He walks to stay in shape. A diabetic, he has found that regular exercise helps with his disease. He wears oversize dark sunglasses because he recently had cataract surgery in both eyes.
He walked to a gas station on the corner of Old Winston Road and Main Street, chatted with a worker that he has befriended, and set off again for home. In all, his route covered about two miles. For most of his journey, he had sidewalks, but there are sections of Hopkins Road where he must walk on the shoulder. "That's the part I hate," he said with a smile.
In 1962, Onyemelukwe left his homeland of Nigeria to follow his brother and sister to the United States. His brother-in-law had come from Nigeria with his twin brother.
One twin became an engineer and the other, Onyemelukwe's brother-in-law, Nlogha Okeke, became a physician at Boston University before returning to Nigeria to practice medicine and build a medical center.
Okeke built his hospital twice, according to the Bates College Web site, "once before the 1967–70 Nigerian Civil War and once after it." He escaped the war by fleeing to the United States in 1970 and opening a practice in Massachusetts.
His family returned six years later to rebuild the hospital and start the practice again.
"Military, military, military -- they scattered everything in Nigeria," Onyemelukwe said about the changes he had seen in his country over the years.
Like his relatives, Onyemelukwe attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, for his undergraduate studies. An athlete, he had played soccer before coming the United States.
As a student, he continued to play soccer but ran cross-country and was the place kicker for his college football team.
After graduating from Bates in 1967, Onyemelukwe attended Northwestern University in Chicago to become a clinical pathologist. He taught at Rush Medical School in Chicago. He and his wife, Josephine, moved back to Nigeria in 1982 with their three children, although she and the children eventually returned to the United States.
"I was used to living in this country. In America, we had the materials we needed to work with. They were plentiful," he said. "In Nigeria, we often have to make do and have a hard time getting what we need."
When his wife and children moved back to the United States, Onyemelukwe began splitting his time between Nigeria and the United States. A few years ago. Josephine, also in the medical field, moved to Kernersville to work.
"This is a better environment than in Chicago," Onyemelukwe said.
Onyemelukwe, a member of the Ibo (Igbo) ethnic and cultural group, stays for three months during each visit. This trip was extended because of his cataract surgery.
Onyemelukwe's health and vision are better, and he expects to return to his home country in late July. Until he leaves, he plans to continue his twice-daily walks.
"I think many people do not stop to talk to m," he said, "because I am very serious when I walk.
"My mind is focused. I carry a notebook so I can take notes on my thoughts."
■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com.
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