August 31, 2004

Pain ends for heroic Miami Herald editor

During his 21 years at the Miami Herald, John Wolin -- born an anchondroplastic dwarf -- lost the use of one leg, then the other. ‘Yet he kept coming to work, hobbling along on braces and canes at first, then getting around on an electric scooter,’ writes Curtis Morgan. ‘The pain, combated with a dizzying array of powerful drugs, did little to take the edge off the rapier tongue that made him a newsroom legend.’ Columnist Dave Barry recalls: ‘He got really angry at a reporter and yelled into the phone: 'You're not just dealing with a bald dwarf here. You're dealing with a bald, ticked-off dwarf.’’