Just Walk Away Renee

I put down the books the other night and watched a movie. I don't do this very often anymore, but "Jerry Maguire" was on and I couldn't help myself. I always get a kick out of the Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding relationship in this flick and my favorite actress, Renee Zellweger, played the lovely Dorothy Boyd. Renee is a wonderful actress and she was excellent as Ruby Thewes in "Cold Mountain" and also as Mae Braddock in "Cinderella Man". I've got to admit that the scene in "Jerry Maguire", where she says "You had me at hello", always gets me choked up for some unknown reason. I think that it is because I never, in my entire life, had anyone at hello…probably had a few at good-bye…but never at hello. I can just envision Renee saying, "Shut up, Ol' Simmons, you had me at good-bye."

Another actress in this film, playing a minor role as Kathy Sanders, and who did a very poor job at faking some tears when Tom Cruise told her he was leaving the firm, was Angela Goethals. Angela has been acting since she was a very young girl; she played McCauley Caulkins' sister in "Home Alone" and has had various other minor roles over the years. Angela's great-great grandfather was a gentleman by the name of George Washington Goethals.

Goethals was appointed Chief Engineer for the construction of the Panama Canal by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 and completed it in 1914, 2 years ahead of the scheduled completion date. The canal actually opened for traffic on August 15th, 1914; about 94 years ago this week. The initial construction efforts were made by the French and they were plagued with the loss of workers due to malaria at an astonishing rate. Today, on the 13th of August, the Lutheran Church celebrates the life and sacrifice of Clara Maass, a nurse who volunteered to be bitten by mosquitoes to prove the theory that they were the carriers of malaria. She, along with several others gave their lives, so that others might be saved. These ultimate sacrifices and the efforts of Dr. William Gorgas and Walter Reed to rid the construction site of yellow fever, combined with the superb managerial skills of George Washington Goethals, allowed the United States to succeed at this monumental task.

After the construction was complete, Goethals was appointed the first civilian Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, a position which he held for only 2 years. Goethals' successors over the years were quite an interesting group of individuals. Clarence Ridley was a Hoosier from Corydon, who supervised the construction of the Lincoln Memorial and also served as the Senior Military Aide to President Woodrow Wilson. Jay Johnson Morrow served as the Deputy Chief Engineer of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War I and was the chairman of the special commission which arbitrated the boundary dispute between Chile and Bolivia from 1925 to 1929.

Jay Morrow was also the brother of one of the richest men in New Jersey, Dwight Whitney Morrow, who was a classmate of Calvin Coolidge at Amherst College. Dwight Morrow was married to the former Elizabeth Reeve Cutter, who was a renowned poet and the first female President of Smith College. Dwight and Elizabeth had 4 children, one of whom was Anne. Anne Morrow became an accomplished aviator and married Charles Lindbergh, who was quite famous for his solo flight across the Atlantic in the "Spirit of St. Louis". This famous aircraft has been on display at the Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. since 1928. I remember walking under it and one of the Bell experimental jets, which I believe was the first to break the sound barrier.

In 1957, a movie was released entitled "The Spirit of St. Louis", with Jimmy Stewart playing the role of Charles Lindbergh. Jimmy Stewart, another of my favorite actors, was an accomplished pilot who flew 20 bombing missions in B-24 Liberators over Germany during World War II. After the war, he remained in the Air Force Reserves and retired in 1968 as a Brigadier General. If I remember correctly, Jimmy even flew as an observer on B-52 bombing missions over North Vietnam.

Of course Jimmy also played opposite Donna Reed in "It's a Wonderful Life". You surely remember George Bailey falling in love with Mary Hatch and asking her, "What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary."

Just like not having anyone at hello…I have never lassoed any moons either…yes, quite frankly, I'm sure that I have never given anyone the moon.