ATLANTA — Nearly 30 years later, a pair of bronzed baby shoes serve as an ongoing reminder for a metro Atlanta man to keep marching to the beat of his own drum, the owner of those shoes - an old friend.
"I reached down between two of the (attic) rafters into some of the old insulation, and I found Bob's baby shoes," Brad Littlefield said.
Littlefield met Bob Waterman towards the end of his life but still remembers his "very strong-willed, opinionated perfectionist" soul. And now, along with thousands of personal photos, Waterman's memory marches on, reminding him to be his authentic self.
"I feel a connection to my community and I feel that I'm just a caretaker," Littlefield said. "You know, the way our bodies inhabit a house for a period of time before we move on or the way our soul inhabits our body. Right? So as a member of my tribe - my community - you know I'm a caretaker of these things."
Throughout his life, Littlefield has held numerous roles. He received a paralegal degree from the National Center for Paralegal Training in Atlanta during the early 1990s. He also worked with the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention in San Mateo County, California, and Hopalong Pet Rescue in Oakland, California.
One strong, consistent theme throughout his life has always been helping others; when he met Waterman, it was an assignment through his work with the Hands-on Atlanta AIDS Legal Project in the 1990s.
"I started working with him on his end-of-life planning," Littlefield said. "He was in the infectious disease ward at Grady Hospital."
And until the very end of Waterman's life, Littlefield tried his best to comfort him as their friendship grew closer.
"He didn't really have any close family here in the state," he said. "They had all ostracized him."
And this is still the case for many young LGBTQ+ people; according to the Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey, less than 40% find their home LGBTQ-affirming. This is why many LGBTQ+ youth find their own family.
"When Bob got sick, the community rallied around him," Littlefield said.
He added that even his rent was waived by the apartment complex because he could not work.
In his final hours, Waterman had only a handful of visitors, with Littlefield being one of them. He still remembers that day in 1995, sitting with Waterman and holding his hand.
"When I march it's to remember the friends that couldn't be here," Littlefield said. "It's to remember the friends that couldn't be here. To enjoy the day and to enjoy that for them now."
Following his death, Littlefield said his family held a funeral in Florida for Waterman, but it did not honor his memory.
"They basically spoke about what a sinner he was and how he deserved this fate," Littlefield said.
But then, it came time to collect what remained of Waterman's life including his memories. Littlefield came across a final box of photos and the baby shoes his family tossed aside.
"When someone goes and there's no one else left," Littlefield said. "'Where do these things go?'"
For Waterman's shoes, they'll stay as a reminder of a friend long past but never forgotten.
"I guess you won't get left behind," Littlefield said.
