I'm sure by now you all know that Robin Williams has passed away. When I heard the news, I wanted bawl my eyes out watching Dead Poets Society before shedding happy tears with The Birdcage. Williams was part of many a childhood across the country starting in 1978 with "Mork & Mindy" all the way to the 90s with Hook and Jumanji. He wasn't just a gifted comedian. His dramatic work was incredible too. Look no further than Society or his Oscar-winning turn in Good Will Hunting.
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| Meeting Genie and Abu in 2007 at the Pirate & Princess Party. Wow. |
His legacy lives on at Disney of course through his voicework as the Genie in Aladdin (and to a lesser extent, its second sequel, Aladdin and the King of Thieves). Aladdin isn't my favorite of the "Golden Age" movies, but there's no denying Williams is a key element to what makes that movie so memorable. The Genie is also still a beloved character at the Disney parks. Today's generation of kids love to meet him. It's fun to see their faces light up when he pops up during Magic Kingdom's Move It Shake It Celebrate It Street Party.
So thank you, Robin Williams, for the memories and the many laughs. Your legacy will live on forever.
I want to take this time to commemorate some people who were and still are very special to me. They are definitely very much with me today. I didn't update at the time of their deaths so here goes nothing.
Ann Caldwell, lovingly called Miss Momma by her family, was a wonderful woman full of life and love. She got her nickname when my mom was a kid. Mom had a friend over and introduced her parents as Momma and Diddy. So her friend, ever the southern belle, said, "Hello, Miss Momma. Hello, Mr. Diddy." The names stuck forever.
In 1986 Miss Momma was diagnosed with MS. She never let the disease get her down though. Even as her body deteriorated she was determined to very much be a part of her childrens' and grandchildrens' lives. She taught all of her grandchildren piano. (That's right, folks. I got some skills though my fingers have a good 10 years of rust on them.) She went to church every Sunday and Wednesday night. She was always there for any special event: birthdays, graduations, ballet recitals, etc. She even visited Disney World three times!
There's actually a pretty humorous story about Miss Momma that I don't think I've ever told anyone. Back when I first started writing, I would let her read my stories. (They were awful Harry Potter ripoffs by the way.) I used a thesaurus to find other words for the basic "said", "replied", and "exclaimed". So you can imagine the look of horror on this Christian woman's face when she read the following:
"Run! He's coming for us!" Dawn ejaculated.
Poor, poor Miss Momma. She calmly told me, "Joseph, you shouldn't use that word." That's all she had to say. Very matter of factly. That's how she was, and I never questioned her. I didn't even find out what the word meant until my teenage years. Good job, me.
Ray Moore. What can I say about Ray Moore that hasn't already been said? He's kind of a big deal. Yes that's an Anchorman quote. Very fitting because Ray Moore was an anchorman. He interviewed Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Frost. He hired Tom Brokaw. Click here for more of his fascinating broadcasting career.
Even with all his success in the news, he was simply Granddaddy to us kids. Like Miss Momma, he loved spending time with his family. Every time we visited his place, he always had something for us to do. We went to the park or the pool, and for dinner we would either have pizza or Chinese food with some Vienetta (sugar free of course) for dessert. Despite his age, he loved taking us to Six Flags every summer. He even took us on our first ever trip to Walt Disney World! That's the thing about Granddaddy. His body may have been old, but his mind was sharp as a tack! It must have been the journalist inside him.
There's a video Grandddaddy made when he was nearing the end of his career. He wanted to write a piece on grandparenting to show Atlantans he was a real person with a real family. WSB loved the idea and suggested that his son, my dad, shoot and edit the piece and that a young yours truly should be the star. Click here for that lovely three-generation feature, and grab the tissues if you haven't already. (It's on Facebook so I apologize if you are unable to view it.) There's also a great forward from my dad you can read, some of which I liberally borrowed just now. Thanks, Dad!
There's one more person I want to say good-bye to, and that's Marie Brinson, my father's mother. She was Grandma to us. We didn't know her very well. I vaguely remember her visiting us when I was very young, and that memory is probably from old VHS viewings. She and her husband Joe owned a lot of farmland not too far from our place, and we visited there a few times during my teenage years. I set one of my screenplays at that farm. It was based off a dream I had, and that dream was inspired by watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers earlier that night. While that might not be the most pleasant memory of Grandma and her farm, it's still a memory, and it still makes me smile.
So what do we have here? One celebrity whose life inspired millions around the world, and three family members who touched many lives during their time on this earth. It just goes to show that no matter who you are, you always leave behind a legacy. Whether you're a famous celebrity or more family-oriented (or in Granddaddy's case, both) there's always somebody out there that loves you.
I hope you've enjoyed this sugary side of Joe Moore. He doesn't come out to play very often. Everybody have a good hump day!
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| Miss Momma and a young Joe Moore |
There's actually a pretty humorous story about Miss Momma that I don't think I've ever told anyone. Back when I first started writing, I would let her read my stories. (They were awful Harry Potter ripoffs by the way.) I used a thesaurus to find other words for the basic "said", "replied", and "exclaimed". So you can imagine the look of horror on this Christian woman's face when she read the following:
"Run! He's coming for us!" Dawn ejaculated.
Poor, poor Miss Momma. She calmly told me, "Joseph, you shouldn't use that word." That's all she had to say. Very matter of factly. That's how she was, and I never questioned her. I didn't even find out what the word meant until my teenage years. Good job, me.
Ray Moore. What can I say about Ray Moore that hasn't already been said? He's kind of a big deal. Yes that's an Anchorman quote. Very fitting because Ray Moore was an anchorman. He interviewed Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Frost. He hired Tom Brokaw. Click here for more of his fascinating broadcasting career.
Even with all his success in the news, he was simply Granddaddy to us kids. Like Miss Momma, he loved spending time with his family. Every time we visited his place, he always had something for us to do. We went to the park or the pool, and for dinner we would either have pizza or Chinese food with some Vienetta (sugar free of course) for dessert. Despite his age, he loved taking us to Six Flags every summer. He even took us on our first ever trip to Walt Disney World! That's the thing about Granddaddy. His body may have been old, but his mind was sharp as a tack! It must have been the journalist inside him.There's a video Grandddaddy made when he was nearing the end of his career. He wanted to write a piece on grandparenting to show Atlantans he was a real person with a real family. WSB loved the idea and suggested that his son, my dad, shoot and edit the piece and that a young yours truly should be the star. Click here for that lovely three-generation feature, and grab the tissues if you haven't already. (It's on Facebook so I apologize if you are unable to view it.) There's also a great forward from my dad you can read, some of which I liberally borrowed just now. Thanks, Dad!
There's one more person I want to say good-bye to, and that's Marie Brinson, my father's mother. She was Grandma to us. We didn't know her very well. I vaguely remember her visiting us when I was very young, and that memory is probably from old VHS viewings. She and her husband Joe owned a lot of farmland not too far from our place, and we visited there a few times during my teenage years. I set one of my screenplays at that farm. It was based off a dream I had, and that dream was inspired by watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers earlier that night. While that might not be the most pleasant memory of Grandma and her farm, it's still a memory, and it still makes me smile.
So what do we have here? One celebrity whose life inspired millions around the world, and three family members who touched many lives during their time on this earth. It just goes to show that no matter who you are, you always leave behind a legacy. Whether you're a famous celebrity or more family-oriented (or in Granddaddy's case, both) there's always somebody out there that loves you.
I hope you've enjoyed this sugary side of Joe Moore. He doesn't come out to play very often. Everybody have a good hump day!
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