The Star – Popo Ott

I call this series "Just Vignettes" because that's what they are, just short snapshots of things that have happened to me or have been told to me. I can vouch the stories you read here are mostly true.

A cluster of workers and volunteers were standing around under the Missouri Memorial's brow during a slack period, clustered in the small spot of shade to escape the Hawaiian sun. They were mostly young tour guides, most in their early twenties, filling their idle time with persiflage.

Somehow the topic turned to an often played commercial of the time, Elisabeth Taylor touting one of her perfumes, probably White Diamonds. The group's laughter focused on Elisabeth Taylor's visage in the commercial which seemed to have been shot through gauze or a camera lens smeared with Vaseline.

An older volunteer loitering nearby apparently overheard the conversation and moved towards the group of younger guides. She admonished them for making fun of people they didn't know. She told them a story.

She told them that a few years ago, her son was working for a vehicle delivery service. His job was to deliver vehicles, which clients had specially ordered, to their doorstep with keys and legal paperwork in hand.

One job had him deliver a luxury European import from San Francisco to a client in Beverly Hills. It was a holiday, and the weekday traffic was light. When he arrived at the delivery address, he parked the ordered car in front and walked to the front door carrying the necessary paperwork. His client's name was not known to him. He had only been given the address for delivery.

She recounted that her son stood on the front porch and rang the doorbell. After a short while, a woman dressed for dinner answered the door, surprised to have an unexpected visitor.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm delivering the vehicle you ordered, Ma'am."

He realized he was talking to Elizabeth Taylor and that she had guests visible behind her.

"I wasn't expecting the car to be delivered on Thanksgiving."

"I'm sorry, but I was instructed to deliver it today."

"They make you work on Thanksgiving?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"But where will you celebrate Thanksgiving?"

Realizing the young man would be spending the night alone in a hotel, she exclaimed that she would not allow it and immediately invited him into the house. Ms. Taylor was having her holiday dinner with her family and a few close friends and asked the young man to join them at the table. Elizabeth Taylor would not suffer to see a young man spend Thanksgiving alone.

"See," the older tour guide concluded, "Even a celebrity, a legend, can have a good heart. You shouldn't speak ill of them."