Vocal

On April 2, I attended a charity concert in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center benefiting Paul Newman's Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. Renamed the SeriousFun Children's Network, it now provides 28 summer camps around the world for seriously ill children, giving them and their parents a break from hospitals and doctor appointments. Free of charge, these camps let the kids be kids.

I've read about these concerts--which offer music, celebrity appearances, and participation by the campers themselves--but this was my first time attending. While I was excited to see some of the celebrity guests, I was most eager to see how the kids would be involved. I'd seen photos and video clips of Paul Newman on stage in costume playing and singing songs with the campers--Everything was accompanied by smiles and laughter.

Billed as "A Celebration of Paul Newman's Dream," this year's concert was a bittersweet reminder of why we were all there--the children with their unflappable spirit and the great man who gave them this gift of freedom, normalcy, and fun. Fourteen campers represented their camps that night. Some of them traveled from foreign countries, such as Italy and Hungary. I was moved and entertained at the same time: One moment, a teenager told us about his best friend, someone he met at his summer camp who never failed to make him laugh but eventually lost his battle with cancer. The next, a younger boy told us the best thing about his camp: two trees that together have grown to form the letter 'H.' "I was told to write an essay about what I love about the camp," he said, "But that would just ruin it."

This year's celebrity guests included Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Paul Simon, Trisha Yearwood, Josh Groban, and Jake Gyllenhaal. One of my favorite moments came during Elvis Costello's three-song set. The concert was backed by a 14-piece house band, but Elvis only enlisted four members of the string section. He commented on the beautiful theater's fantastic acoustics. Then, during his second song, "A Slow Drag with Josephine," he proved it. Playing alone on his acoustic guitar, he stepped away from the microphone but kept singing while roaming the stage. Avery Fisher Hall is elegantly simple in shades of beige, but Elvis was right: The acoustics rock!

Here, Comet volunteered to take center-stage because he loves Elvis Costello! While Gordon, B.J., Lily, and Ashes are in the band, the other kitties wouldn't dare miss this event. They've snagged front-row seats.

(Illustration Friday: April 6, 2012)

At the benefit, Elvis Costello introduced "A Slow Drag for Josephine," saying that he was about to play some rock 'n' roll. Our cheers transformed to giggles when he clarified, "At least, it's rock 'n' roll as I imagine it in 1921." You may not know this song, so I thought I'd include it here for your listening pleasure. While not quite as cool as the version I heard, here he is singing it on Jools Holland's show, "Later Live," in 2010. Enjoy!

Video © BBC

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?

Paul Newman (1925-2008)

"I'd like to be remembered as the guy who tried -- tried to be a part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in his own life, tried to extend himself as a human being." Paul Newman

I knew this was coming, but I was hoping for a miracle.

I've seen almost all of Paul Newman's movies, but I can't remember which one I saw first. Was it The Verdict? Or, was it Absence of Malice? I was already hooked by the time my dad directed me back further to Hombre, Hud, and Cool Hand Luke. I was hopelessly devoted by the time I saw a younger Paul in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Long Hot Summer, and The Hustler. Yet, I rushed out to the theaters to see his later films -- Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, The Hudsucker Proxy, Nobody's Fool -- and fell just as much in love with the cranky old man. (Cars counts too!) Discovering an old Paul Newman movie was like finding a gift that was just for me. Waiting for a new Paul Newman movie was like anticipating a visit from an old friend. Imagine how elated I was to catch him in 2003's Broadway run of Our Town! Oh, to be in the same room with The Man!

I don't remember how I became so loyal to Paul Newman, but how can one not be? For me it had little to do with his films or the pretty face. Reading and seeing him in interviews just made my admiration grow: the intelligence, the well-spoken thoughtfulness, the kindness and generosity, the eagerness and joy for life, the biting sense of humor -- The Whole Package. His talent -- displayed in his entire body of character-driven projects -- is a happy bonus.

When Newman's Own products hit the grocery store shelves, I'd plead with my mom to buy them -- or sneak them in the cart myself. If confronted regarding my selections, my arguments were always chock-full with simple facts: "It's Paul Newman's: it's good." And, if that didn't work, "He donates all the proceeds to charity!" The Hole in the Wall Camps are his gift to children worldwide, and he has raised more than $250 million to it and other charitable causes over the last 25+ years. Who can argue with that?

Paul Newman is it: the guy everyone should aspire to. Good luck. He was one of a kind. His wife and family are lucky, and we are lucky to have known him too.

The kitties and I wanted to pay tribute, of course, but being such a brilliant character actor made it difficult for us to whittle down distinct movie moments that lend themselves to illustration. Norman offered to eat 50 hard-boiled eggs in one sitting, but I thought that'd be unhealthy for him, nor did it quite sum up The Greatness that is Paul Newman. But how do you draw such broad traits as exceptional, genuine, decent, good, inspirational, or wonderful?

So, we decided to take the easy way out: load up on the comfort food and have an open-ended Paul Newman Film Festival until the sun comes back out. Many thanks and farewell, dear friend; you have made a difference and are missed.

We are all sad, but we are surrounded by a few of our favorite things: We have two of our favorite books (the inspiring Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good by Paul and his friend A.E. Hotchner and Paul Newman: A Life in Pictures, my favorite Christmas gift from last year.) We have our favorite anytime dinner (spaghetti with Newman's Own Sockarooni "Sock-it-to-'em" spaghetti sauce). We have our favorite movie snacks (Newman's Own Organics Pop's Corn microwave buttered popcorn and/or Mint-Creme-Filled Newman-O's).

[All of these yummy products should be available at your local grocery store. If not, check the Newman's Own website when it gets back to normal. Remember, It's Paul Newman's: it's good! And, all the proceeds go to charity! Oh, Comet also wants me to point out that, while you're at it, you can donate to the Hole in the Wall Camps.]

Lastly -- and thankfully -- we have a large supply of Paul Newman Movies. (B.J. and Norman have apparently chosen Hombre to start us off.) Settle in and enjoy!

Note: Be sure to catch TCM's 24-hour tribute to Paul Sunday, October 12. Yay!