Victoria Harris' Memorial
On July 21, 2008 Victoria Harris, matriarch of the Harris Family, died at the age of 100. The words below were part of her memorial service.
Speeches:
VICTORIA'S LIFE
Victoria Harris was an English lady of great dignity who loved life. She lived a full one until her peaceful passing on July 21, 2008, at the age of 100.
Vicky King was born in London in 1907, grew up in
Westcliff-on-Sea, and attended Mansfi eld College in Brighton where she was
voted the "Most Popular" girl in the school. In 1927, she married an older,
successful businessman, Alfred Harris, in a spectacular, fl ower-fi lled
ceremony in London, had a splendid honeymoon at the Lido in.jpg)
Venice, Italy, developed a rich social life among the young marrieds of London,
and lived comfortably with her three sons in suburban Richmond-upon-Thames,
until war clouds began to gather over England. Alf had intended to relocate the
family to Jamaica, but German U-boats soon prevented travel to the Caribbean. As
a result, the family took up residence in Long Beach, Long Island. After two
cross-country holiday train trips to California, Vicky confi rmed her lifelong
love affair with Hollywood; Alf agreed to abandon his original intention to
return to London and continued to manage his scrap metal/scrap plastics works as
well as his property holdings from a distance. He also relished the thought of
expanding the sale of the antique silver objects he had exported from England
(the repository for much of his wealth at the outset of the war) to cash-laden,
ration-restricted customers in Southern California.
Vicky set up housekeeping in her Glenbarr Avenue home in Cheviot Hills in August 1944 and didn’t budge for the next 64 years. During that time, she sent her three sons to local public schools, traveled extensively, shopped continuously, lunched regularly, and signed happily every legal paper Alf put in front of her. As the years went by, she took a more active role in her business affairs, drew close to her fi ve daughters-in-law and their families, delighted in the accomplishments of her 11 grandchildren and their spouses, and cherished the progress of her 12 great grandchildren. Throughout her life she had loving friends, memorable acquaintances, and devoted caregivers.
She hosted a full-on weekly tea each Sunday for anyone who stopped by Glenbarr — as the house became known. She never forgot a birthday, never said no to an invitation, never failed to have her hair done, never had a cross word for anyone, and never heard a bit of gossip she didn’t relish. She left us with the hope that the gods of good fortune might have showered her with more bingos, larger slot machine payouts, and a Mega Millions jackpot. She wanted to share a signifi cant win with family and friends; she never appreciated the fact that being available to share her time and her thoughts was reward enough for them.
Although active and involved until a few weeks before her death, Vicky did not fear the end as it approached because she sensed it would result in her being reunited with her husband, Alfred, who had been at her side for more than 58 years until he passed away in 1986.
GENERATION TWO
Vicky was fond of her cup of tea; mad for marzipan; liked a good kugel and homemade gazpacho.
Most of all she loved her family, and she kept up with
them by phone. If I missed calling her one morning she would ring up later and
ask: Is everything all right? She was a good listener, a loyal friend, my
confidante; and she lavished and loved us whether we were Harrises or married
into the Harris family.
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She was a giving person and hers was giving in its purest form because she needed no recognition—no public acknowledgement—the deed itself was her reward. Fifteen years ago she insisted on giving me the seed money to create Friends Assisting Friends, a charitable foundation that ultimately helped hundreds and hundreds of former Soviet people to survive through their transition to a more open society. Many of them later wrote that she was their inspiration as they began over again. The Russian archives at Stanford University (where Michael and Jeffrey went to school) are filled with letters—written in Russian—inquiring about Vicky, and wishing her the best possible life.
She was so popular that if you wanted her to be at your table for one of the holidays, you had to invite her six months before the event—and make sure she wrote it in her diary—otherwise she would have 16 other invitations before yours.
Because she was our inspiration, I believe it is our responsibility as family and friends to continue to be inspired by our relationship with her.
For just a moment, please, think about your relationship with her. Why was it special? What made it different than other relationships? What did she add to your life?
A piece of her resides within all of us here. And to the youngest members of our families, as you go forward with your lives, we hope that Mimi and her values will live on through you.
Victoria King Harris was, as the British say, a One-Off! One-Off meaning that after God made her, he never used that mold again, never made another quite like her.
My name is Linda Harris. I have been part of Victoria King Harris’ family for over 50 years. She was Mom to some of us, Grandma to a small group, Mimi to many, Vicky to others and Mrs. Harris to the rest of the world.
As a teenager I was impressed with eating in a dining room with green velvet chairs and a small bell that brought Bessie to the table with interesting English food which included roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Shepard’s pie, stuffed calf hearts, bubble and squeak, steak and kidney pie and for dessert, trifle—with toothpicks that showed where there was no sherry.
Victoria never worked at a paid job a day in her life and she was proud of that. She devoted her life to her husband, her sons, and the rest of her family. She liked the status quo and was endlessly kidded about her frantic searches to find the exact same wallpaper or upholstery material so the den would continue to look the same as it had when she bought the house on Glenbarr Avenue decades earlier.
She enjoyed her California image as an English woman with a refined English accent. She was shocked during a visit to us in London, after living twenty years in the United States, when the shop keepers on our local parade thought she was an American. Of course the fact that she couldn’t figure out the English money and asked me to translate pounds into dollars didn’t help.
She enjoyed bingo and would often complain that she had been “one away” from winning a big pot. She also liked to play the slot machines in Las Vegas and in the fifties, when you actually had to pull a lever on the one armed bandits, she would come away with a sore arm. She always dressed up, complete with her long eyelashes, and in Vegas she was sure that we would get a front row table for a show because we were dressed so nicely. Of course the $20 bill that Alfred slipped the maitrede helped.
I think her grandchildren and great grandchildren will best remember her sitting on the patio on a Sunday when various members of the family gathered for tea and swimming in the summer when the pool was often as hot as a bathtub.
I will remember her best for being a role model for elegant living and a devoted advocate for all of her family.
GENERATION THREE
Thank you all for coming today on short notice and from far away.
I am Scott Harris, the oldest grandchild of
Alfred and Victoria Harris, son of David and Sonia Harris and with my late wife
Gail Steinberg, the Father of Mimi’s oldest great-grandchild Andrew who will
speak a little later.
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As we all know, Mimi was a woman of grace, style and manner. I never saw her truly upset and I never heard her say a cross word about anyone… whether they deserved it or not. Everything I learned about etiquette, deportment and how to maintain a loving relationship came from my Grandmother and Grandfather.
This type of event, a funeral, usually involves sharing warm and happy memories of the person for whom we have gathered. And the real shame is that the guest of honor is not able to hear the nice words we have to say about them. But just a few months ago we lavished Mimi with words of praise at the celebration of her 100th birthday. So it was in this way that Mimi was unusual in that she was able to hear all of the wonderful things we could say about at her while she was alive to enjoy the praise she so richly deserved.
There are some other unusual things about Mimi that I would like to share; those small facts about her that many of you may not know:
Back at the 100th birthday there was a display of old pictures of Mimi, one of which was a darling shot of a her as a curly haired child, dressed in a miniature soldier’s uniform, striking a rather theatrical pose. It turns out that Mimi had a minor career as an entertainer.
As a young girl she performed for the troops during The Great War with a small singing and dancing act that predated Shirley Temple by about 15 years.
I have no hard facts but I always had a suspicion that Mimi always harbored a bit of performing ambition. And maybe the family’s move during war time with rationing and three small boys, a stranger in this land of America, all the way from New York to Los Angeles without the help of her husband was a shot at rekindling that acting ambition.
Many of you may not know is that Mimi was quite the athlete in her day. On the playing fields of Mansfield College, Mimi was a fierce field hockey player. Field Hockey is a game were perfectly lovely young ladies are given sticks and allowed to beat each other with them and this demure young lady apparently excelled at this sport.
Additionally, she was one of the best basketball players at her school. So here’s an image for you… Mimi doing a finger roll.
Mimi was not your typical sports fan but she was quite the athletic supporter. In the 1980’s when the Laker’s Showtime Fever was gripping the city of Los Angeles, Mimi was a big fan and watched every game with enthusiasm. Mimi’s favorite Laker, a young and handsome Magic Johnson.
A few years later when a cute young golfer emerged on to the nation’s conscious, she developed a real crush on Tiger Woods.
Mimi was an elegant woman and she knew the finer things in life. She had dined in some of the most exclusive restaurants around the world and always ate at the Captain’s Table when cruising upon the finest ocean liners. But what some of you may not have suspected is: She truly enjoyed a good hamburger from Kirk’s or Hamburger Hamlet. She was no stranger to Kentucky Fried Chicken and she was particularly fond of the bean burrito from Taco Bell.
Mimi was taught how to drive by the family chauffeur. I am not certain what type of car she used to drive back then, but my earliest memories of Mimi’s driving was behind the wheel of a gigantic four-door Cadillac with monstrous tail fins. While I would not categorize Mimi’s driving as being particularly good, she had an ability to parallel park those giants cars with aplomb. My late mother liked to say that Mimi could always find work as a valet parking attendant.
Mimi’s life was unusual: She had the unusual privilege of being a living witness to nearly all of the events of the 20th Century. She lived a happy, fulfilled life and she lived a long and healthy life. She lived to be 100 years old and as we know 100 represents a perfect score by anyone’s measure. I say that our Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, friend and neighbor indeed lived a Perfect Life. And so we should remember her for that.
To my Dad, my uncles, my brother and sister, husband (wherever you are back in London), my cousins, my aunts, all the in-laws, all the kids, and all the collected friends here today:
Here I am again…speaking to you about someone I love. It’s not easy. This should tell you how important these three women I have chosen to stand up here and talk about in front of lots of people are to me.
However, today, you may have to get the hook. I can’t possibly think where to start let alone where or when I could possibly stop talking about my grandmother.
I could simply say I was the daughter she never had.
But to be honest, I wasn’t of much use to her until I could stand up, go out to
lunch and shopping and then come home for a cup of tea and a chat. As Scott has
probably already mentioned, the summers were magical. Straight from the airport
to pool. 3 weeks seemed like an eternity. Louise Dewhurst and I and all the boys
in the neighborhood spent every waking moment in that pool only to surface for
Ho Ho’s and Ding Dongs.
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That was that stage. Then, we moved to LA from Northern California. The lunches and the shopping trips continued. There was a brief time when she told my mom she wouldn’t do it anymore—the shopping with me that is. What teenage girl doesn’t find shopping for clothes difficult when the body is changing and usually in the wrong directions? That was ok---just a brief time period.
Now I was working and supporting myself and driving and living within minutes of her. We hung out. What can I say. She was my friend and I was hers.
In a girls’ life there are mothers and step mothers, and if you are lucky there are sisters and step sisters and sisters-in-law. There are aunts and cousins and nieces and of course, friends. But, then there is a grandmother. Somehow I got a bingo on that one. Every fabric of her being is inside me or rubbed off on me. We need not dwell on the makeup, jewelry, or clothes. That’s a given. It’s the demeanor, the devotion, the sweetness, and the fun that I would like to think are inside me. It was never pounded into me, yelled at me, or disappointed by me. She was who she was and I soaked it up.
However…we weren’t exactly alike. She loved that store at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax, Newburys and Taco Bell. Needless to say…they aren’t my style.
But let me tell you about a few things that she loved and that I loved about her. 1. Calling from London..how are you..Jeffrey is away. 2. Bobcat carpet cleaners…..loved them! 3. The fact that Jeanne makes breakfast for Michael 4. David who has been, in her very own words: wonderful. Isn’t that right Lucy…she said it!!!! 5. Tiger the cat 6. She had a zillion housekeepers over the years and some were fantastic that I loved or she loved or we both loved or neither of us were too thrilled with. But when Zizi came on the scene…she thought she could do no better. Then, Lucy came and she wore eyemakeup and her clothes all matched every day and you called her Darling. She LOVED you…and of course as everyone has said, you were fantastic. 7. I can’t talk about what she loved about each cousin because it is never ending……but try and stop me. 8. Greg’s calls from the car phone to or from work 9. Vicki taking incredible care of that old chupa 10. Lilli feeding Michael when he first was separated from Barb. 11. Ken for being as discreet as possible about his earring and his tattoo 12. Scott for being fortunate enough to meet Anita and then smart enough to marry her. 13. Brooke for coming to tea after a long dry period. 14. Finally Mark who she was thrilled to help financially with your further schooling and courses that helped you in your career. 15. Last but not least….all of you Dekovners----you send the BEST cards.
I heard about all of the above over and over and over again.
Now…getting back to me…what she wanted more than anything in her life (I think, or would like to think) was that I would marry some guy who loved me and that I would have a lifetime of pleasure taking care of. Amazingly that guy appeared in the name of Marcus. Yes, he took me away from her and the family but she only ever wanted me to live the life, have a nice house, and have the husband that was somehow and someway a Welsh reincarnation of Grandpa. She couldn’t believe her and my dream had come true. So much so that she had to jump on a plane at the age of 89 and come and visit us in London and see if indeed I was living the life----her life, but in reverse. I think she found I was.
I arranged to have more surgery in August. Surgery I needed, but wasn’t thrilled nor anxious to do. I only did it, to guarantee another LA visit to see her. I was due to come Aug 10…then moved it up to Aug 5 upon the news of her recent diagnosis. Then, was e-mailed by Jeff to consider moving it up again. Then, last Thursday, I phoned. Lucy put her on the phone even when she had stopped taking calls and asked me when I was coming. I said soon. Lucy then told me to come now. I changed the ticket again….cancelled appointments, got the husband primed, and jumped on a plane the next morning. I drove to her house direct from LAX. As I drove up, she had struggled to get to the bathroom to put some powder on to look good for my arrival. According to Lucy..she was excited and happy and had been looking forward to seeing me. I got up the stairs and as she was walking back to bed, she had to sit half way as it was just too much. I let her get positioned and then I crouched to be face to face with her. She said, “I can’t believe you are here”. Those were the last words she said to me., but the most important. She knew I had come early for her. That afternoon was the absolute most emotional time for me with jet-lag and sadness. Jeffrey wanted her to sign checks….and Michael came upstairs and said: “mother—you look a little shlocked out”. I knew…she wasn’t our girl anymore, but they held out hope. I never got more chit chat….Jeffrey never got his checks signed and Michael…..I can’t believe you said that, but she probably agreed. And then of course, my Dad who struggled himself to climb those stairs more times in the past week than he has done in the past 5 years. She felt your pain too.
Her boys were everything to her. She couldn’t ask for more. They loved her so much and she loved them. But as my dad said….everyone loved my grandmother. Everyone had a secret with her. She had secrets with all of you. You were all special to her. And, if life continues the way this week has been with everyone in this family being unusually wonderful and nice to each other, she will rest a very happy woman. I will miss her as will we all.
Grandparents bring a special relationship with all the love and little of the baggage that typically comes with other family members. I think about all four of my grandparents quite often. There were the carefully typed letters by Alfred to a college-age grandson far away from home. There was grandmother Fayga who took us on the perfect weekend outing-- a trip to the McDonalds where we bought extra French fries and sat outside to feed the pigeons, followed by a shopping spree at the 5 and Dime. I’m grateful for my grandfather Manny, who is with us here today, and has taught me the importance of bringing good humor to every part of our lives. And, of course I’ll always remember my grandmother Mimi.
B 1
My grandmother wanted all of us to be someone in life. She wanted no obstacles in our way. She volunteered to pay for my college education—twice--and always seemed a little embarrassed when I thanked her.
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My grandmother always took a keen interest in my professional life. I remember her seeming bewildered if I told her I applied for a job but didn’t instantly get a job offer. She suggested, as she often has over the course of my career, that she would be happy to talk to any prospective employers and let them know what a good boy I was. My grandmother was very much like having a Hollywood agent.
N 32
The reverence paid to Hollywood and in particular the Academy Awards, was significantly more than any religious holiday that I remember. I took one film class once in my life and the only thing I can remember from that class is that all movies must have conflict. And while my grandmother loved conflict on the silver screen she abhorred it within her family. And yet the rest of us seemed to thrive on a healthy dose of conflict. And yet somewhere within our genetic code, it seems, when there was no family conflict to be had, some of us would find a way to stir some up and return the family dynamic to its normal state.
G 50
There’s a picture that I took one day of my grandmother many years ago talking to one of my cousins on the patio. There was a certain twinkle in her eye that day that I’ll always remember. The camera captured a certain look of adoration in my Grandmother’s eyes. She loved being a Grandmother and she loved us.
In every conversation I’ve had with my grandmother for the past 14 years. And I mean every conversation. She would make a reference or comment about how perfectly adorable my two boys are. It was as if she re-concluded this point in every conversation. She loved being a Great Grandmother and was very proud to watch the family grow.
O 72
Unfortunately few of us got to hear her shout those words too often. By contrast most of us are all too familiar with her grumblings about bad luck and the one that got away.
But today Victoria Harris is the winner. She is with her beloved husband Alfred. I think few could argue that a stronger love or bond exists in the family today despite the years that have passed since his death. And ultimately isn’t that the most important Bingo of all.
Please join me in saluting my grandmother by shouting bingo. While she isn’t here to do the shouting, I know she’ll hear us. One more time…that’s O72.
BINGO
While I have many memories of my grandmother Mimi and her home, I know that my brothers or cousins will cover most of the highlights. What I really what to spend a moment remembering is Mimi’s love. For me that love was unconditional and always given with the greatest of care.
For those of you who knew her well, you know that she had some very strong opinions about certain things. And for those of you who have been to Glenbarr, you know that rarely, if ever, did she change her mind.
However, despite her strong feels and her appreciation for tradition, she never let those things get in the way of her love. I am the living example of that. When I was 18 I got my ear pierced—definitely not something in the book of Mimi approved activities. And while others in the family questioned my choice and even my sexual orientation, Mimi never made me feel like less of a grandson. When I was 26, I dated a black woman, another of those things with which my grandmother had an issue. When I was 28, I grew my goatee, facial hair being a big no-no on Mimi’s list. Once again, although she was reminded of my choice every time she saw me, she never shunned me and always greatly accepted my scratchy kiss on the cheek. Finally, when I was 42, I committed the sin of all sins, I got a tattoo. Ever since I can remember going to tea at Glenbarr, I have heard stories about how Uncle David was threatened with disownment if he returned from the Navy with a tattoo. Yet, once again, I never felt like Mimi loved me less. And while she never asked to see it, I think she appreciated the meaning and the importance it has to me.
Now, having said all that, you might think that Mimi was the type of person who would just bite her tongue about my choices. However, I know better. Some of my favorite times spent with Mimi were when I got the chance to drive her home from a family affair. It would never take long for her to share her thoughts and opinions about people’s attire, behavior or personal choices. So I am confident in knowing that she and my father and perhaps even others had a good ruddle over me.
None of that lessens my love for her, as I know that none of what I did lessened her love for me. Mimi may have disapproved but she never disengaged or disappeared out of my life. She had more than enough love to go around and it was important to her to share it. I hope that as my children grow and make choices that perhaps don’t always please me, I will remember the love that my grandmother gave me and I will give that same kind of love to them.
I will miss you Mimi but I know that I carry your love with me wherever I go.
I know that she had a really great life. She had the most nurturing and happy childhood. She married the love of her life~ a man who treated her like a queen and who she adored. She had three sons who were and still are the most devoted, dedicated and caring sons any mother could want. She was surrounded by her entire family throughout life as well as in death. During her more than 100 years she had little if any pain or hardship… by all accounts she indeed lived a long, healthy and happy life. Her only act of neglect was not preparing any of us for a life without her in it. She never acted her age and we all, I think, in a way expected her to go on forever. I, for one, just couldn’t imagine my life without her.
I tried coming up with one story that encapsulated our relationship or the special bond that we shared but I really couldn’t. Everything just led me back to all the reasons why I loved her so much.
I love my grandmother because:
You always knew the look she was going to give, whether it was that irritated grimace at being just ‘one away’ in bingo… the look of horror upon hearing a husband was in the delivery room while his wife was having a baby… or that nice smile of greeting to whoever walked up the grass towards the patio for Sunday tea.
I loved that there was a
picture of us from our trip aboard the QE 2 and when my friends saw us
posing under the caption, “Queen Elizabeth 2” they’d ask: How did you get to
meet the queen?
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She and I both had the same faux purse but only she could actually pull it off.
I loved that the staff at Lawrys knew her by name.
I loved that for all her elegance, she still loved Cocos, IHOP and Taco Bell
I loved that while some of our immediate families changed and expanded she represented the ‘constant’ in all of our lives.
I love that in each of our homes there is a mimi chair.
I love that she keeps a teacup at my house because she hated the idea of drinking anything out of a mug.
I love that she commanded respect just by virtue of who she was. Whenever my boys would act up, I’d say, “would mimi like that?” and it always calmed them down.
I love that she taught by example the meaning of ‘matriarch.’
I love that her sons are in their 70’s but she still referred to them as her boys. She fretted over David’s well being. She beamed at every morsel Michael ate and she always said how greatful she was for the attention doted on her by Jeffrey.
She never accepted the fact that she was old and always maintained a busier social schedule than people ¼ her age.
I love that she enjoyed watching my boys drink tea and eat marmite sandwiches every Sunday
I love that two years ago at Mason’s 2nd birthday party which took place at the Santa Monica carousel, she got right on that Merry Go Round, too.
I love that she’d say even though she wasn’t a ‘baby person’ she felt an indescribably special bond with my son Spencer.
I loved that she was more of a ‘friend’ to me than a grandmother and I knew that I could tell her any little thing that was bugging me about anyone, she’d steer me down the right path and relish every last morsel of gossip along the way.
She loved and cherished her family and I know she’ll live on because I see a part of her in each of us, her 8 biological grandchildren:
In Scott I see her ability to see clearly during difficult times · In Susan, I see her love of beautiful things · In Vicky I see her spark that always kept things interesting · In Greg, her wit and humor · In Mark, her great love of animals · In Kenny, I see her sweetness · In Brooke, her love of make up and hair · And In me, I know I share her value of tradition and the desire to keep our family together.
She was our friend, confidante, leader, inspiration, and the closest any of us will likely come to royalty but more than anything, she was loved and will be greatly missed.
GENERATION FOUR
I appreciate you all coming out here today, the sheer number of people here is a testament to how much Mimi meant to us all. I’ve decided to speak today not just for my own sake but also on behalf of generation four. I know not all of you can voice your opinions so I certainly hope I can do you all justice.
I never knew my great-grandmother as well as most of you, 18 years is not even a fifth of her lifetime; and of those 18 years. I can really only remember 12 of them. I never met Alf, and Scott tells me the last day he ever saw Mimi drive was the day she heard that Gail and Scott were expecting me. Mimi was to me not so much a person but a time capsule, a window into the Edwardian age. Every Sunday she would be there; she’s dress herself up, put on her makeup, and hike down on those stairs and each time I’d give her a kiss on the check, a eat few tea sandwiches, and if I stayed long enough I could pour her a scotch and soda. In the summer time I’d swim in her pool, and if I were lucky enough, she’d make steak and kidney pie. The time I had with Mimi was only a passing moment but I’d like to think it wasn’t any less special
However It wasn’t until her hundredth birthday party that I realized that for a woman I saw every week, I barely knew anything about her. For all the time I spent with her, I never spent the time to ask her about her life. Now that she’s gone I finally realize what a resource I’ve lost. She’s a lady who remembers both world wars. In Lilli’s interview with her she talks about hiding from German Zeppelins and German bombings of London. I think I learned about that in school between my usual history class naps. I knew she lived through the wars but somehow it never felt real, I always thought she was a 90 something year old woman who hosted high tea at her house, I couldn’t imagine her as anything else, I missed the train, but I realize it was my fault for not asking her.
I always thought that Mimi would outlive us all. That if the world would ever come to an end she’d still be at Glenbarr serving tea and watching Tiger. While it’s hard to finally say goodbye, I can’t help but feel a bit of relief. She lived a hundred years, and had a lovely life. If there was anything she wanted to do, she had done it. She had lived to see the next three generations, something most people can only wish to accomplish. Though she had a rough last 5 days, she went relatively peacefully, and that’s all any of us could ask for. So thank you all again for coming out here today
Living in Northern California, I never had a chance to spend much time with Mimi except during family parties or short visits to the pool. But, I will never forget the big kiss and welcoming smile she gave me every time I visited. She always seemed so happy to see my brother and me, which made us feel really good. One of the best things about Mimi was that she was very proud and interested in what her great grandchildren were doing. She loved the theater so every time I talked to her she would make sure to ask me about my latest stage show and tell me how wonderful she thought I was. Someday when I accept my Academy Award I will definitely remember to thank Mimi for her interest and support in my early career! Mimi was a wonderful person who truly cared about everyone and made each one of us feel special in our own way. I will miss her.
As I get older I know my memories will fade. But there
are some things I think I will always remember about my great grandmother Mimi.
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I will always remember Mimi’s special accent and the way she called me “Darling.”
I will always remember how Mimi liked to get dressed up. I don’t think I ever saw her without her makeup!
I will always remember wondering why I couldn’t go into Mimi’s living room.
I will always remember getting a big kiss from Mimi whenever we arrived at her house.
I will always remember playing in her pool and wondering why Mimi never went swimming.
I will always remember feeling proud – and a little embarrassed -when she told me I was handsome.
I will always remember Mimi’s big birthday parties, especially her 100th birthday. That was special.
Thinking of Mimi will always make me smile.
Updated August 4, 2008