Category Archives: Family, Memory & Personal Essays

Family, childhood, memory, relationships, personal history, and reflective autobiographical essays.

What I learned from my mother about tolerance…and appreciation

Posted on June 18, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Growing up in Marcy Housing in Brooklyn, one of my neighbors was gay. Everyone in the building knew this. Everyone accepted this, because this is who he was. I won’t say that everyone in the projects accepted this, but most … Continue reading →

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Superman and a Little Girl’s Imagination

Posted on June 16, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I am walking down a busy Brooklyn Street when a little girl sees me and says, “Superman to the rescue!” I strike a pose and walk, not fly away. I am wearing a Superman tee shirt, and I feel Super. … Continue reading →

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Fathers’ Day

Posted on June 15, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Fathers’ Day is tomorrow. Nowhere near as many cards, gifts and flowers will go to fathers as Mothers’ Day . In fact, Fathers’ Day, after Mothers’ Day, is anticlimactic. Nonetheless, fathers are important in any equation when we talk about … Continue reading →

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Spring Cleaning and Other Discoveries

Posted on June 3, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

During the Spring Cleaning that I mentioned in another blog, I did not mention that I discovered something else: two manuscripts I wrote in my 20s, when I was aspiring to be a novelist. The first, β€œStreets of Rage,” is … Continue reading →

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Memorial Day (2013) — Remembering My Daddy

Posted on May 27, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

It’s Memorial Day, when we remember the men and women who have and are serving in our armed services. Today, I remember my father. He served his country during World War II. He enlisted in the Army on October 31, … Continue reading →

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“I’ll Always Love My Mama (Part 1)

Posted on May 12, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Today, Mother’s Day, if one turns on the radio one is bound to hear The Intruders’ “I’ll Always Love My Mama,” inspired by one of The Intruders’ (Kenny Gamble) Mama, Ruby. Although the song, released in 1973, didn’t make it … Continue reading →

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Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Posted on January 16, 2012 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My earliest political memory is of Dr. King’s assassination. I was 7 years old. I didn’t understand the enormity or impact of his death. All I knew, as a child, using the adults’ sentiments as a barometer, was that the … Continue reading →

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There is always a story…

Posted on October 31, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Just the other day I was walking by the Dunkin Donuts on the corner of Broadway and Halsey in Brooklyn when a man, probably my age plus twenty years of hard living on the streets, limped up to me and … Continue reading →

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Remembering 9-11

Posted on September 12, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Everyone in New York City has a 9-11 story. Mine begins nearly two months before that fateful day. I was in the World Trade Center with my ex-wife, who is originally from Jamaica. (I am a born and bred New … Continue reading →

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On the Dock

Posted on September 7, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

We are moored to the dock Supine Stargazing Lost in the Milky Way I feel so far away from home Where we can’t see the stars We oooh and aaah at shooting stars This is better than the Macy’s Fourth … Continue reading →

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