Paul and Me

Well, I read this book pretty quickly. Paul and Me: 53 Years of Adventures and Misadventures with my Pal, Paul Newman by A.E. Hotchner is exactly what the title says. It's not a Paul Newman biography but a  collection of moments from Paul and Hotchner's 53-year friendship. In the beginning, he recalls their love for fishing, even though they never caught anything and their boat was always on the verge of sinking. With a boat named Caca del Toro (and subsequent boats referred to as Caca II, III, and IV), I knew I'd like this book.

Paul and "Hotch" seemed to have fun with everything they did and never took anything too seriously, but the results were always solid. Paul had an amazing amount of luck and things seemed to happen on whims, as if he just woke up one day with random impossible ideas that came to fruition with relative ease. A good chunk of the book is devoted to their business venture into Newman's Own--from stirring the first batch of salad dressing in Paul's barn using a canoe paddle to convincing everyone that the first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for seriously ill children could be built in a year's time. Paul's unwavering character--his infectious joy, thoughtfulness, and steady determination--come through on each page. "Paul Newman was an unadorned man. We was direct and honest and off-center and mischievous and romantic and very handsome," Hotchner writes. "He was the same man in 2008 that he was in 1955, unchanged despite all the honors and the fame, not a whisper of a change. That was something--the constancy of the man."

Years ago, I read the book Paul and Hotch wrote together called Shameless Exploitation in the Pursuit of the Common Good, which chronicles the haphazard creation of Newman's Own and its unexpected success. (One of my favorite books, I also highly recommend it.) Reading the letters and testimonials from the parents and kids who find refuge in the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps will touch anyone's heart. Paul and Me does the same. In the end, both books make me wish Paul Newman was still around.

Here's a scene from The Verdict, which I think is first movie of Paul's that I ever saw. It might make you fall in love too.

Frank Galvin's summation in The Verdict © 20th Century Fox

I'll pick a new book soon, but for now, I like having Paul Newman's picture on my blog. I hope he doesn't mind.

I am reading!

One of my new year's resolutions is to read more. Something about living in D.C. prevents me from picking up a book from the piles on my floor and tuning out everything else to focus on it. I keep buying books and planning to read them, but they just get dusty. I only read when I'm on a plane or at home visiting family. When I'm in D.C., I always have drawings to do, yoga class to attend, movies to watch, Lily to play with, and whatever else to distract me.

I just got around to starting my reading resolution this week. Even if I only read 10 pages a night, I tell myself, I'll at least be chipping away. I added an "I am reading..." section to my blog sidebar. I figure posting it here will remind me to keep going.

The first book I picked up from my floor selection is Paul and Me: 53 Years of Adventures and Misadventures with my Pal, Paul Newman by A.E. Hotchner. I was crushed when Paul Newman, one of my most favorite people on the planet, died in 2008. (The Kitties were too, see?) He was somebody I was always happy to see anywhere, anytime. I miss his thoughtfulness and wisdom, his charm and class, and his jokes. I ran out to buy this book as soon as it was published last year, but I resisted starting it: Written by one of his best friends, I thought I should savor what I was sure would be an honest account of the man. And, I also dreaded the imminent sad ending.

After spending the holidays in Ohio, I came back to D.C. and returned to my routines. I nearly tripped whipping around the corner from the kitchen when I heard a snippet of Paul Newman being interviewed on PBS Newshour. The report was about Newman's Own food company, which just celebrated hitting the $300 million mark in proceeds given to charity, proving that Paul's philanthropic efforts have outlasted him.

Robert Redford said that the world was a better place with Paul Newman in it, and I think he's right.

So, a year after I bought it, I'm finally ready to open the book. It might take a while to finish, but I'll let you know how it is when I do.

Look for a new book every once in a while if I can keep this up! What are you reading?