JIMMY

We lived in Reno, Nevada. Mom was walking along in front of the Mapes Hotel, my twin sister and I in a double baby carriage, when her path was blocked by a fairly large crowd of people. As she tried to make her way through - made more difficult by the somewhat unwieldy carriage - she came face to face with none other than the great Jimmy Stewart. It seems he was in town to receive the Silver Spurs Award and was staying at the Mapes. On his way INTO the motel he spied Mom, with the baby carriage, almost swallowed up by that mob (she was all of 4'10" tall). It seems he, too, was the parent of twin girls, just about the same age as my sister and I, and he decided to strike up a conversation with her... (we were all of a year old). He actually stopped my mom's progress through the crowd to ask her advice... on how to handle the day-to-day struggles of living with twin babies! He wanted to know things like... how to learn to tell the difference between them, how to juggle feeding schedules and even how to make sure that one twin didn't receive more attention than the other. Mom tells me their conversation lasted about 30 minutes.

After Mom finished telling me the story, I realized why Jimmy Stewart has ALWAYS had a special place in my heart. I used to think it was "just" because he was such a fabulous actor (and a hellova nice guy), but now I know that, young as I was, he must have had an impact on me all those years ago. My sister and I have also always known that he was the one and only actor whose death would cause us a great deal of grief... enough to cause tears to flow freely and unabashed.

Sadly, that has now come to pass. Yet, even through these tears, whenever his name comes unbidden into mind, I smile. Not just for the wonderful movies he made, or that smooth, caressing voice, or even the patriotic pride he was all too willing to show, but for the father who cared enough to interrupt his busy schedule and admire two little babies and speak with their mother of simple, every-day life.

Peace to you, Dear Jimmy, for no one I can think of deserves it more than you. Bask in the warmth of reuniting with your dearest Gloria.

nll 07/05/97 - 2001