RIP Paul Newman

He had vision while the rest of the world wore bifocals.

By now most of you already know that actor, race car driver and all around good guy Paul Newman passed away last week. I was busy all weekend and didn’t have time to write about it on the day it happened. Not that you need me to remind you that he was incredibly talented actor, devoted family man or a remarkable philanthropist. If you happened to miss that, there are plenty of stories on the web to enjoy. (Here is a good on from the Chicago Tribune). There are a few thoughts I want to share though because I think Mr. Newman is worth stopping to consider for a moment.
As some of you already know, the headline for this story is stolen from a line from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. That is one of my ten favorite films of all time and there is a poster of the final shot in the movie looking over me right now. No big deal right? It’s a classic, everyone loves that movie. It means a lot more to me though. Like most men I went through a period growing up where I was convinced that my father was wrong about pretty much everything. I loved him and respected him, but fought him at every turn. We didn’t agree on much of anything. One of the things my father insisted on was how good this freaking movie was. At that time I wanted nothing to do with westerns and especially didn’t want to watch something that he said was so good. Eventually he wore me down though and I sat down on a hot summer day with my dad to watch what I was sure was going to be a woefully boring film. Two hours later things were different. I can’t say that the movie changed things overnight or anything silly like that. I can tell you that my father was right about Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and right about countless things before and since. That movie was one small step towards the relationship I have with my father today and I will never forget that. Not that it was all Paul Newman of course, but he will forever be tied in my mind with one of the things that gently reminded me that the man who raised me was right more often than he was wrong and always led me gently towards the path he hoped I would take. To this day, when I screw up, especially as a father I can count on my father smiling at me, putting his hand on my shoulder and simply asking “Think you used enough dynamite there Butch?”
The lasting emotional impact of Newman’s art is real enough to me, but even more impressive is the way he gave back. We all talk about doing what we can to help those in need, but Mr.Newman walked the walk in a very big way. He has been giving to charity through hew Newman’s Own foods for years. In recent years he ramped that up however and gave 120 million away. He essentially gave away the entire worth of his Newman’s Own brands to various causes ranging from early childhood education, to cancer research and of course, promotion of the arts. Hollywood idiots screw up every day and we love to see them fail. We also need to remember that some people who are blessed with more than they could ever need give back more than their share.
We have lost a legend of the screen, but more importantly we have lost a truly good man. Thanks to Mr. Newman’s generous gifts his impact will be felt for generations. And in some small way, thanks to a wise-cracking cowboy, my life if forever changed.

www.AshlynnBrooke.com