Barbara Walters: Moving past limits to make us listen
Barbara Walters may have named Hillary Clinton and nine others as her most fascinating people of 2013, but to parents with kids teased for their idiosyncratic speech and a dream of public life, it is the host herself who should be celebrated.
"We don't use the word important that's why we say fascinating. They make us look at them," says Ms. Walters.
While Walters prefers to stay behind the scenes reporting on those who make us look, such as Miley Cyrus and Pope Francis, she herself has earned the respect that makes us listen.
A woman once mocked by the world after听Saturday听Night Live star Gilda Radner embellished Walters鈥� idiosyncratic speech and dubbed her 鈥淏aba Wawa,鈥� she is now someone the world stops to listen to when she names who is most fascinating.
I regret today that as a teen I joined the crowd doing my impression of Radner impersonating Walters. I pay for that lapse in judgment every time someone makes fun of my youngest son, Quin, age 10.
Quin was born with Asperger's听syndrome and some added development issues and did not speak a sentence until he was age three.
When he began to talk we needed speech therapy three times a week to help him become intelligible.
Yesterday, I was called to his school for yet another team meeting to try and help him overcome his most notable issue 鈥� 鈥渢he lisp.鈥�
Quin doesn鈥檛 say the letter 鈥淪.鈥� Instead he says 鈥淭H鈥� in its place. If he were voicing the character Woody in Toy Story he鈥檇 exclaim, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a thnake in my boot!鈥�
It seems that little difference in speech makes a big difference in how much a parent worries about their child鈥檚 success.
Quin dreams of being a scientist on TV 鈥� the next Bill Nye 鈥� teaching the world about everything from chemistry problems to what color a mirror really is and why.
However, when Quin tells people he meets about his dream, they tend to give me a sympathetic eye-roll that says, 鈥淥h that鈥檚 too bad. The lisp will hold him back.鈥� Often, other moms will actually say those words to me along with the look.
That鈥檚 when I have to go breathe into a bag and try not to drive the poor kid nuts by becoming the pronunciation police, making talking a misery for him.
In light of yesterday鈥檚 speech therapy meeting and Walters final special, I鈥檓 thinking I need to bring some attention to Walters herself.
Perhaps if I do, parents will not knuckle under听to peer pressure and end up steering their child away from a dream just because their child does something imperfectly.
Walters, the adoptive mom of one, said last night during her special, "I regret not having more children. I would have loved to have had a bigger family."
She may only have raised one child at home but her life鈥檚 work and the example she set should be part of many families.
That鈥檚 why I am naming Walters my MVP of 2013 鈥� Most Valuable Parent.
Despite the mild speech impediment that the camera added a million pounds to, Walters was able to muster unruffled, dignified delivery of the news that commanded attention and respect.
Walters became the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news program in 1976 and then co-hosted 鈥淭he Today Show鈥� in 1977.
She famously conducted the first joint-interview of Egypt鈥檚 President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
Walters was also the first female news anchor on national US听television, and possibly the first news anchor to make more than $1 million a year.
Her mild speech impediment didn鈥檛 break her, but rather became a footnote to her resume as an icon.
Today how Walters pronounces words means nothing.
All that matters is the fact that she says things we need to hear.
It was her classy bravery through being mocked and bullied over her speech, plus her innovation and commitment over the years, that gives her more street cred than any parent can hope to wield.
If you want to be fascinated, go look at听Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball. If you want to know what success sounds like, listen to anything Walters has to say.听
