Memories of Charles Waters
Friend recalls playing hoops in Queens
I knew Charlie through my buddy Michael Campbell, "Soupy." Back in the early 80s we used to play basketball every Thursday at 6 p.m. at 88th street Park in Ozone Park Queens.
Charlie was a very physical player. He used to get into it with another big guy james Arnone, who we called "Arnie." They always seemed to thrive on beating on each other under the boards, so we affectionaly called them the "Bruise Brothers."
After the games we alway threw down a few beers which was the best part of the Thursday night games. Soupy, Jay, Brian, Arnie, myself and Charlie'sgood friend Bob did this for several years.
I was living in Oklahoma City, where I now live, when I heard about the tragic event and only found out through Soupy months later that Charlie had passed. He was a fun, lighthearted guy who indeed poked fun at everybody but never had a bad word to say about anybody. I hope you are at peace. You are missed :)
Steven Loeffler, Oklahoma City (formerly Ozone Park, Queens)
Friend: Charlie was a true friend
I wanted to share some memories and thoughts about Charlie Waters. I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie for the first time on a golf trip that I hosted in Myrtle Beach in the fall of 1998. I had become friends with his best friend Bob who was also from Queens and later moved out to NJ where we met in 1996 at a party.
Charlie was a character, a true New Yorker in every sense of the word. A testament to the type of person he is that during the golf trip he got word that a friend who was battling cancer had passed. He chose to cut short the trip and return home to attend the services and offer support.
Charlie, Bob and some other friends had made plans to attend the U.S. Open in 2002 at Bethpage Black. Charlie, according to Bob had also plans to rent his house because of the close proximity to Bethpage . Because of the events of 9/11 everything changed
Bob, trying to carry on as Charlie would have wanted, kept his commitment to attend the event. He invited me to the practice round and on that Wednesday we drove out to Charlie’s house where I had the pleasure of meeting his wife Barbara. Barbara impressed me with her strength and resolve by not only caring for their three children , but also Charlie’s aging parents. This is when I felt the impact of how all these lives were changed.
I know my friend Bob has not or will never get over Charlie being taken from us as he was. In a small tribute to his love of golf we have dedicated our annual three day golf trip the third week of September to the Poconos as “The Charlie Waters Memorial Golf Outing.” I’m sure Charlie is laughing at us has we hack our way around the local Pocono Mountains golf courses in his memory.
Chuck McGuire, South Bound Brook, NJ..
