Forever A Golden Girl: A Mutual Love For the Movies

My grandmother passed away this week.  Not only was she an amazing woman, but she's also the person I credit with giving me a love of movies.  My earliest memory is watching old movies at my grandparent's house.  We'd eat frozen green grapes out of a big silver bowl and there was always an open box of Russell Stover Candies on the coffee table.

My grandmother had a fascination with all things Hollywood and she shared it with me.  She showed me old movie books full of black-and-white, glossy photos of the classic movie stars of the golden age-- the age when she was growing up.  I learned about all the films and actors that existed well before my time.  I immersed myself in Hollywood history.

When I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood, I thought about my grandmother most.   Was I doing the right thing?  I was going to miss her.  Hollywood was 1200 miles away and we wouldn't get to see each other whenever we wanted.  We wouldn't get to watch movies together all that often.  And I felt guilty about all of that.  What I didn't think about then, was that Grandma had been training me for a career in Hollywood all my life.

I've gotten to have the love affair with Hollywood that she'd always dreamed of.  Although, it hasn't always been glamorous,  I got to tell her my stories from the trenches.  Tell her the Hollywood stars I'd met.  Our mutual love of Hollywood brought us together, but it was also Hollywood that took us away from each other.  But she was proud of me for going to Los Angeles even though I missed her so.

She wanted to be the golden Girl, the Rockette, the entertainer, the ingenue.  To us, she was and always will be.  She never lost her childish wonder or her love of the movies.  She took notice of the smallest things and her facial expressions always made be laugh-- especially when she was happy or pouting or trying to get away with something.

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Grandma, I have so many things to thank you for, but above all, thank you for sharing your passion for movies and entertainment.  It's now my passion, too, and we can share it together no matter where you are.  I hope you're watching It Happened One Night somewhere there in heaven... or eating frozen green grapes and laughing at Laurel And Hardy with Grandpa.

Copyright ©2013 by KLiedle