I ended yesterday’s post with,
“Paul Newman.” Yes, working at Woodland Park Zoo, I had the privilege of
meeting this man, great actor and environmentalist. Here’s the story.
Stewart Stern was a Keeper Aid in the gorilla exhibit. He
was a screenwriter who had retired or maybe actually lived in Seattle, Mr.
Stern won an Emmy for “Sybil” and an Oscar for “Rebel Without a Cause.” He was
quite famous in his own right. I remember watching “Sybil” on television in
1976 and being fascinated by the story and Sally Field who played the part of
Sybil. It was the true account of a young woman who developed alternate personalities
because of her mother’s abuse. Paul Newman’s wife, Joanne Woodward played the
part of Sybil’s psychiatrist.
Mr. Stern had talked to me several times about having a
special friend visit and hoped that my boss would be amendable to providing a
tour. As it happened, Mr. Stern made arrangements through me and with the
gorilla staff to bring Mr. Newman, his daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons
for a “secret” visit to the zoo. I was so excited when I made the arrangements
with my boss and jokingly said I simply had to go with her. I then laughed and
said, “I know, that wouldn’t really be
appropriate.”
The day came and it was time for my boss to head for the
gorilla exhibit. I reminded her and she came out of her office.
“Grab your pad and a pen. You can walk down with me. This
is the only time I’ll have today for us to talk.”
Well, I didn’t let any qualms hold me back. I grabbed my stuff
and my keys and followed her out the door. As we walked to gorillas, she gave
me a number of instructions about items that I’d need to take care of that
afternoon. Suddenly, we were there as were Messrs. Stern and Newman and the
family. I sort of hung back. Mr. Stern introduced my boss, and bless her heart,
she introduced me.
Somehow, I managed to not wet my panties, fall at Mr.
Newman’s feet, throw my arms around him or ask for an autograph or anything
else that would have embarrassed me, my boss, Mr. Stern or Mr. Newman and his
family. When Mr. Newman took my hand to shake, he said,
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I responded, “No, sir, it’s my pleasure.” And, it most certainly
was.
At that point I was going to return to the office, but my
boss told me I could stay if I liked. So, I stayed and watched the Newman
family interact with the zoo’s gorillas. I also watched Mr. Newman sign the
wall at gorillas, so the zoo did get an autograph.
When we left gorillas, I started to turn back toward the
office. Before I took more than two steps, Mr. Newman turned back from the
group, shook my hand a second time and said goodbye.
At that time, Mr. Newman was 80 years old. He wasn’t much
taller than me and had that frail appearance that some older people attain with
age. He may have looked frail, but I just know what was left was pure steel. And,
yes, Mr. Newman’s eyes were really that blue and his two grandsons inherited
them.
By the time I got back to my office, Mr. Newman’s group had
made it over to the orangutan exhibit. From there my boss called and asked if I
could drive one of the zoo carts over. Mr. Newman’s back was acting up. Well, I’d
never learned to drive one of the electric carts…dang it anyway…and this wasn’t
the time for me to learn. I walked over to the Events trailer and asked who
there could drive an electric cart. Of course, they all responded in the
affirmative, but not enthusiastically. Then I said,
“Paul Newman and his family are at the orangutan exhibit and
they need a cart.”
Well, everyone jumped on that, but the young woman who
responded first got the job. It was a great experience for her and a much-needed
lift for a day that had begun with some bad family news. We kinda compared
notes after and Mr. Newman and his party were just as nice and friendly as she
drove them around the zoo as they seemed to be when I met them.
I’m sure, in fact I know, we’ve had other very important
and famous people visit the zoo, but this was my one experience with one of
them. I’m sure I’ll remember it for as long as I live.