Thursday, April 16, 2009

PART TWO ----- AND WHEN THEY DON'T


One of the main reasons I went to the four ball tournament was to see one of my heroes. I had mentioned before that I was a fan of the "Dudley Do Right" type of man. I adored Perry Como, not only for his looks, his voice but also his solid reputation as a great family man and all round good guy. However, after my meeting with The Great One and Arrogant Golfer Guy I was a bit afraid to meet Mr. C.


Jerry had some business to attend to with the tournament so he handed me off to Jack who knew Perry personally. Now both Jerry and Jack were much older than I and married. It would be easy to assume that there was a more to our relationship. I am pretty sure I fell into the little sister or "pet" category. They were both solicitous and protective. I loved them both for the care they showed me that day.


"So you really want to meet Perry?" Jack asked. " He and his wife are dining privately but I can take you there."


I assured him I was desperate. We then started to wander thru the bowels of the country club. I thought Perry would be dining in some grand private dining room. This was not what I expected as Jack led me to a large room that was empty of everything but one small table and 4 people. The small group looked up as we approached. Jack whispered,"I hope you appreciate this for I really hate the guy they are dining with." It was a dreaded business rival of Jack's.


Perry smiled big time as he recognized Jack. He rose from the table , accepted the introductions, took my hand in both of his and said he was so pleased to meet a friend of Jack's. Perry then introduced me to the lovely blond next to him , his wife Roselle. I grinned like I had no sense and said nothing. The mouth opened but nothing came out. I was struck dumb. I desperately wanted to be cool but it wasn't to be. I provided Jack with good ribbing material for a long time. Perry offered to let us join them but Jack said no, we had all ready eaten, so he said goodbye(I was still just a grinning mute) and we left the room.


Jack had previously told me how much Perry was devoted to his wife. Jack and Perry played cards together and often Jack would try to tempt Perry to go out on the town afterwards, but Perry always said."No thanks, I want to go home to Roselle." Not "I have" to go but "I want" to go home. I ended up at Perry's house at a later day and he actually greeted me by name. The man was renown for remembering names. Even though the second meeting was months later, I still was the grinning mute. I am sure he was convinced I was speech impaired. He spoke loudly and slowly to me. But, back to the country club.


When I recovered my speech and ability to breathe, Jack handed me back to Jerry.
Jerry was handing out the awards for the tournament and took me to the ceremonies. After the awards were handed out, Jerry said one of the golfers wanted to meet me and was I willing?. He pointed out Jay Hebert (pronounced A-bear). Now this was "the" bachelor on tour so I naturally said yes. Jay was a ruggedly handsome man with impeccable manners. It was rumored that he was one of the original Marlboro men in those sexy ads. Jay wanted to know if I would join him, his brother Lionel who was also an excellent golfer, and Lionel's wife for a late dinner. I said I would and Jerry was freed from his obligation to me.


Jay took us to a famous Steak house in West Palm Beach. We had settled at our table when who did we spy but Arrogant Golfer Guy also dining there with his father and business manager. He positively glared at me. He came to our table, all the golfers shook hands and congratulated each other on a good tournament. He then turned to me, still glaring.


"I thought you DIDN'T?" he snarled in a vague attempt at being obscure.



"I DON'T," I answered with almost glee. "Jay didn't make it a requirement for dinner."


I don't think men normally huff and puff, but he did as he returned to his table.
I told Jay what had just happened and why. I made his day. Seems he wasn't fond of Arrogant Golfer Guy either.



Jay and I dated for several months. I had to admit it was cool to watch a man play golf on TV then to have him call as soon as the tournament was over. Because he was on tour, we didn't get much time together and he eventually met someone else. I was not a bit crushed, I enjoyed our time together but knew it would go no further. In many ways, we were too different. He sure was a fun chapter though.

16 comments :

  1. You realize, of course, that I will be scanning my memory for days, trying to guess who it could be!

    I love Perry Como for all the same reasons as you - but I loved his voice from the time I was a kid. My mom loved him too.

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  2. kenju

    Wasn't Perry special? As for AGG,he may have changed in the many years since so I really hate to lambaste him in public. Lets face it, he couldn't have gotten any worse so he must have gotten better and he does have a hapless wife who deserves better.
    Glad to have another chance to thank you for the award. Your opinion is important to me. I'll pass it on tomorrow.

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  3. Perry Como was one of my favorite crooners, too. How lovely that he was also a "nice" person.

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  4. What a fantastic story. Now I'm going to be googling golfers just to try and figure out who's who. I love that you got to meet Perry Como. He really was quite the gentleman, wasn't he.

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  5. O came over from Kenju's because she awarded you that WONDERFUL Zombie Chicken! Great Story!And I too ;pved Perry Como...!

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  6. Sorry about all the mistakes..."I TOO LOVED PERRY COMO"....lol!

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  7. Hi Patty,

    I was directed to your blog after reading about you at Kenju's.

    I really enjoyed reading about your adventures at the PGA and your meeting with Perry Como.

    I live in that area of Florida in the Winter and we usually have lots of company. To entertain them we take them on a boat cruise up through Jupiter Inlet and that is where Perry Como lived.

    I have been on that same trip about 5 times and every time,as we passed Perry Como's home,he would come out and wave to the people on the tour. He was so nice.

    He seemed to know that the tourists were being told that they were passing his home and he knew how thrilled they would be if he appeared by his dock and waved to them. He was so right. The people were delighted to have seen him.

    I never met him personally, but always liked him for being so kind to his admirers.

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  8. Pat
    So glad you liked him also. NEVER have I heard a bad word about the man. One of the true "good guys"

    Thanks robin,
    I googled the boys also. I found a bit on the Hebert brothers but only one picture of Jay.

    http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=picture+of+jay+hebert&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=dTDnSc7zL8OrtgfAgtTEBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

    Bottom row, middle picture.

    His brother Lionel was a really good trumpet player as well as golfer and when we went out with him, the bands always asked him to sit in. They were a neat family.

    Old Lady,

    Thanks so much for stopping by. Can't wait to put the "Chicken" on my side bar. Very flattered that kenju thought me worthy.
    Perry was neat wasn't he. Loved his TV show. He was the eptiome of cool. I'll pop over to see you now.

    Nancy,

    Welcome to TNS. So glad kenju sent you.
    Loved your story about Perry and the cruise boats. That was so like him. I lived for a while in Jupiter also and Perry sightings were common for he was just an open, really nice guy. He gave celebrity a good name.
    Did you also visit Trapper Nelson's? I did a post on him on Feb.6 from the archives.

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  9. We always watched the shows of Perry Como and we liked it. You can write well! Thanks for sharing! Thanks for your kind comment. Sadness can be beautiful, I agree, Patti.

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  10. Perry Como was one of those "constants" in my life while growing up. My folks were born in Pennsylvania (I was too), and he was one of those Pennsylvania icons that stayed with us when we moved.

    His was the first live show I ever saw at the Cape Cod Melody tent when I was about 12 years old.

    Thank you for the memories.

    I can't even begin to address the golfer story, but I must say, what an interesting life!

    "Til the end of time..."

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  11. You lucked out. That would have been tough on a long-term relationship. Life on the road is more romantically imagined than actually lived!

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  12. Reader Wil

    I am glad Mr.C made it across the pond and was appreciated.
    Hope you had a day of healing.

    Barry,

    Yes he was a Pennsylvania product. I am surprised a young fellow like you remembers the man but I am glad you do. He was such a decent person. That song was a favorite.

    Robert,

    You are so right. That was the problem and I knew it going in so it was not a difficult break up. Just fuel for good memories.

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  13. Thanks for stopping by my place....! "BELLA" is mostly in English---it takes place in Brooklyn and in Manhattan...The only time subtitles are used are just minimally when the father of the young man speaks in Spanish and I think one other time. But it is an American/English speaking film.....And a very very sweet one, it is!

    I have a funny Perry Como story, but it is too long to tell you here....I never met him though.

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  14. Thanks for info about subtitles. Sounds really good and it is in my queue.
    Don't tease me about a funny Perry story. Can you make it a post?

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  15. WOW! You really did pick up quite a few comments - and they are as fun to read as your post was! I'm glad to see my peeps showing up here.You deserve the recognition, Patti.

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  16. kenju
    You got good peeps and LOTS of them. Thanks again.

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