A few of my friends know that, late in life, I discovered that I have Asperger's syndrome -- or what today is known as autism spectrum disorder or ASD. Some still refuse to believe I have it. And I can understand the reaction. I do not fit the most common ideas of autism. My symptoms, … Continue reading Facing an Intense World
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. So said Atticus Finch in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Perhaps that's why I felt the presence of something large yesterday when a mockingbird greeted me with fussy curiosity in Monroeville, Alabama. I had taken time after a family funeral in nearby Brewton to … Continue reading It’s a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird
Today we all are remembering the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The first photo of the iron cross beams was taken in 2002 during a visit to New York, where I spoke to an international group on the subject of crisis communications. We toured the wrecked site of the World Trade Center, which still … Continue reading Remembering 9/11
It was the day Elvis died. Forty-one years ago today. It was my first adult encounter with mass grief over the loss of a cultural icon. On August 16, 1977, I was a young summer intern at the Pensacola News Journal. That day I was working the copy desk around midafternoon. It was a simple job … Continue reading The Day Elvis Died
One of my earliest legal mentors was Miami's famed First Amendment lawyer Parker Thomson, who died last November. In 1986, I was fortunate to spend my last summer of law school working for his boutique media firm, then called Thomson Zeder. One case I helped research involved a subpoena that actor Don Johnson had obtained … Continue reading Remembering Parker Thomson
It is official. I reach Social Security age tomorrow. Perhaps that explains why buzzards are circling my house. All my life I watched people shake their heads whenever anyone reached 62 as if to say, "What a pity. Can't believe a single word they say anymore." So, everyone just help me find my chair in … Continue reading On Reaching Social Security Age
My Father, Robert Leslie Waters, circa 1945 My father always wanted to be Hank Williams. All throughout my childhood the strains of "Kaw-Liga," "Lonesome Whistle," and "I Saw the Light" filled our house as my father used these dream songs to lighten the drudgery of his life as a postal worker. When the annual Post … Continue reading Dream Songs of Hank Williams
Robert Craig Waters 