Charles Rangel: “this is a great privilege and honor for me, and one that I have never really enjoyed before, to talk about a friend that…”

“this is a great privilege and honor for me, and one that I have never really enjoyed before, to talk about a friend that has passed away and at the same time to talk about trying to leave something that is made out of steel and concrete as a memory for him. This is difficult because Judge Watson was anything but a monument. He was just a living example of what a great country that we live in. It is true, as the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) said, he came from a family that is well known, a family of hard workers and high achievers. But still that same family, as the gentleman pointed out, really never left the Harlem community. They were always there as mentors for those who wanted to help themselves. Judge Watson served as a guide and a symbol of what can happen in this great country when people try to make something out of their lives. So whether he was a lawyer or whether he was a judge, he was always somebody that we just called plain old ``Skiz.'' It is remarkable how his family was able to visit with him, his daughter Chris and other daughter Karen, while he was on his death bed. I have never in my life heard of anyone that was leaving that was so concerned about his friends and family that he mapped out everything that he would like to see happen before he left us, and had a chance to tell each and every one how much he loved them.”