And the answer is....Buddy Hackett!!! I knew the answer would come to me. He's the comedian I mentioned last time. It's funny how names and ordinary, every day words can elude all conscious effort to retrieve them from the recesses of your mind but then pop up in an unguarded moment,interupting all rational thought and making you wonder "Where did that come from?" By the time this "Eureka! I've found it" moment occurs you've completely forgotten why you needed the answer in the first place. However, there are times when, days later, an answer comes to you, you blurt it out to anyone close by, and someone knows exactly what you're talking about.
I recently visited my sister Nancy, editor of the gardens gift , and her husband Harlan, editor of the green cutting board, in Palm Harbor Florida. As is our usual custom, we chatted late into the evening, jumping from topic to topic and back again with no discernable pattern. Conversation and laughter flowed easily and we eventually reached the topic of famous actors or actresses. Many names were mentioned along with our favorite movies starring these people. Late into the night my sister Nancy pointed out that when I tilted my head a certain way, I resembled the famous actress....what the heck is her name....you know, the one from way back with the long hair that waved over one eye. Guesses ranged from Marilyn Monroe to Jane Russell and on and on but the right answer kept dancing just out of reach of any of our usually sharp minds. We decided to drop that particular subject and move on to other thoughts. I enjoyed five wonderful, relaxing days with Nancy and Harlan, constantly talking about a miriade of subjects. On the morning of my departure, we were stting around drinking coffee and spending the last moments of a great vacation together talking as usual. Suddenly...Eureka!!! I blurted out "Veronica Lake"! My brother-in-law stopped in mid-sentence giving me a totally bewildered look. Granted my announcement had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation at hand, but Nancy immediately understood what I was talking about. We finally had the answer to the question from the first night of my visit so we could put the matter to rest. Although we had to remind Harlan of the initial conversation, he finally just smiled knowingly and gently shook his....yep, we're sisters and we do tend to think alike (scarey huh). At least I was able to return home free of the burden of searching for an answer.