SONS TRY TO RECONCILE PAST WITH PRESENT

-George Jenkins Sr. and George Jenkins Background: His father's heavy drinking, George Jenkins writes, prompted his mother to leave South Carolina and move north with her two sons. Jenkins, who wasn't quite 2, writes, "I don't think I've seen my father a dozen times since we got on that bus." Current relationship: Still tenuous, although Jenkins says forgiving his father has allowed him to move forward. "I began to see that my dad didn't intentionally make things the way they were, nor did he want them to be that way. … We now talk fairly often and care enough to keep up-to-date with what's going on in each other's life." -Alim Bilal and Rameck Hunt Background: Hunt's parents never married. Except for one summer, Hunt never lived with his father, who spent more than two decades as an addict, in and out of prison. A decade ago, Bilal kicked his drug habit, went back to college and became a drug and alcohol counselor. Current relationship: Close, although Bilal suffered brain damage after a heart attack last year. He can't walk and doesn't speak much. His son has abandoned "visions of him going on tour with us to promote this book. I couldn't wait to show him off." -Kenneth Davis and Sampson Davis Background : After years of fighting with his wife, Kenneth Davis moved out to live with his girlfriend when his son was 12. Even before that, he had been a "distant and hands-off dad." He stayed in his son's life only peripherally, although he lived just 20 minutes away. Current relationship: Kenneth Davis died in May after years of suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. His son writes, "There is a part of me that will always be missing, a part that is uncompensated by everything else I do."