Carl Reiner, the well-known writer, actor and comedian, was being
interviewed for the weekly Sunday morning television broadcast by the same
name; (“Sunday Morning”). At 93 he is the picture of health, and his humor has
never faded.
The interviewer flips to the subject of Estelle Reiner, Carl’s wife, and
eight years his senior, who died in 2008 at the age of 93. You might remember
Estelle from the movie classic, “When Harry Met Sally.” She had been cast by
her producer son, Rob, as that older woman in the diner, who upon listening to
“Sally” utter all those climatic sounds at her table uttered the now infamous
line,
... “I’ll have what she’s having!”
In one of his books Mr. Reiner recounts his wife’s last minutes “on this
side of the mortal coil.” It seems Estelle had been quite the singer in younger
years, and though by this time her respiration was down to one or two breaths a
minute, it seemed plausible to her husband that her hearing might still be
intact. As a result, Carl ordered one of his children to put on an old
recording of Estelle singing, “A – You’re Adorable.”
As her winsome words filled the room with “A – You’re Adorable, B – You’re
so Beautiful”… the attending hospice nurse exclaimed,
“She had such a lovely
voice!”
Suddenly, without opening her eyes, the seemingly comatose Mrs. Reiner silently
mouthed the words, “Thank you”
… and died.
In an age in which selfishness, greed and vanity have overcome more angelic
pursuits, we’re never too old, and it’s never too late
… to be thankful.
No comments:
Post a Comment