A Memory of Paul Newman

When Paul Newman died last week, I cried. A great actor had left his mark in Hollywood and a good soul had left the world. I had always had a wee crush on him and one day, in 1983, I actually got to meet him. I was doing the clinical part of learning to be a unit secretary. It was at Broward General, a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, and he was working on a movie called "Harry and Son", with Robbie Benson. Word spread around the hospital, that Mr. Newman was doing a scene of the movie in "our" hospital and the ladies and girls were all smiles and giggles, hoping to get a glimpse of this beautiful man. I was working in the obstetrics ward, and some of us had a break. Hearing he was on our floor, we started to look for him.
Not quite running or walking, we went through the halls to seek him out. As we sped by an alcove, and I saw him out of the corner of my eye. The others kept going and I stopped. He was just standing there . He was not very tall, was wearing a cabbie hat and just leaning against the wall. He was older than I thought him to be and not as big as he appeared on screen. I smiled at him and he smiled at me. Briefly, I thought about asking him to give me his autograph, but all I had with me was a package of instant cocoa. Now what?
I thought better of it, out of respect for his privacy. I looked into those clear twinkling eyes of his, smiled and said hello.
Suprisingly, he smiled at me and said hello back. I felt my face get warm and blushed. I said "Thank you", he smiled and I walked away, feeling like I was on top of the world . That feeling lasted me for a week. From then on, every time I saw him on screen, I remembered those few moments, got a gentle tingle all over, and smiled inside.
HE was a good and sweet man, and I will miss him.