Rackon

" ...He glanced down at her (he was TALL!) "Hi".he said to her - but didn't move. "Sorry". said my mom, and as Newman stepped aside, she says she mumbled, "Thank you, Mr. Newman" To which he replied, "Yup . She's not sure why she thanked him - maybe for letting a 15-year old girl have a really cool story to tell for YEARS after." Pia, those were lovely stories about your mom's encounters with Paul Newman and Joann. However, you'll forgive me asking if your mom is short - I met Mr. Newman a couple times, and he was only average height, maybe 5'9". I'm 5'11" and I was taller than he. Friends of ours in Mooresville, IN, had a French restaurant that Mr. Nedwman frequented when his racing team was in town, especially during the Indy 500. He was charming, unpretentious, a good tipper - and yes his eyes were bluer than blue - but tall he was not. The Newman daughters showed horses in their teens and Paul and Joanne were supportive, completely mixed into the background at shows. They were quite good sports too, even participated in a "find Paul Newman" in the crowd contests for Charity. Paul was harder to spot than you might think, and Joanne completely blended into the crowd. But they were very generous to charity. Great artists and gracious people. I'm a little sadder knowing Mr, Newman is no longer in this world.

I too found the elegiac quality of Joe Henry's song apt and very moving with the images onscreen. The spare musicality, touching lyrics, understated delivery and simple arrangement are highly effective. I ain't no punk rocker - I reached the century mark a couple years ago - and while I love popular music of all sorts - classic songbook, jazz, rock, R&B etc (I used to be a rock critic in my college days, I was there for both New Wave and the first punk movement, saw the Sex Pistols live in their day etc) - I probably play and listen to more classical music than anything else. I hate it when tacky contemporary songs are tacked onto movie's closing credits - I didn't even like the song at the end of Return Of The King. But a great song is a great song. Joe Henry ain't no punk rocker either...his style is light years away from that. (Moreover, Joe's gotta be pushing fifty.) This literary singer-songwriter is rather difficult to categorize. He started out as a folk/alt-country artist but I think of him as a strotyteller - a more tuneful, not so raspy Tom Waits who writes brilliant characters and creates a musical universe around them. His own inlfuences include everything from Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan and Ornette Coleman. Reading his lyrics on the page, they read like poetry. Music and all, IMO this is one of TCM's best "Remembers". Message was edited by: Rackon Message was edited by: Rackon