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Remembering a Dear Friend... Barney Oldfield |
Wednesday April 30th we hosted a gathering of
Barney's friends in LA. It was a
real celebration of Barney's life and works...good deeds
which we
plan to help continue. Many from our Nebraska Coast
Connection
attended, along with some of his oldest friends, like
Ruth Schiller
and Paul Davis (ex-RTNDF President). George
Foreman also made a
special trip to be here with with his son, and the two of
them had a
great time getting to know everyone they had heard
about from Barney
over the years. Everyone told stories and shared
memories of Barney,
then we toasted to him and to Vada. (We had a Coca-Cola at an empty
chair for Barney--he was definitely a presence here!)
Barney photos, books, videos and scrapbooks filled a
table and
covered surrounding walls...we showed his website on
one computer and
the George Foreman tribute to Barney from his recent
RTNDA honors in
Vegas on another. Per Barney's request, and in the
Barney tradition
of keeping his good deeds going, we even sold a pile
of his new books
as donations to Vada's alzheimer's research fund.
People stayed late
and the spirit was one of celebration. We all felt the
challenge to
continue all that Barney has begun. It was a lovely
evening.
I have been thinking a lot lately about Barney's last trip a
couple
years ago. I was with him as his travelling companion
to special
honors from the National Dollars for Scholars
organization in
Minneapolis. It was such a treat to hang out with
Barney for those
several days--I really learned the secrets of the Barney
Magic
firsthand. On the way home, he mentioned that we
would probably be
flying over Nebraska and wondered how close we'd be
to North Platte
and his Vada. I checked with the cockpit (this was pre-
9/11!), told
them about Barney and Vada, and they confirmed we'd
be going right
over and would let us know. At the appointed time, the
captain
announced over the p.a. that down below was resting a
very special
lady and her husband was onboard. He then gently
waved the wings of
the plane to salute her, and Barney and I had a Coca-
Cola toast to
his Vada at 30,000 feet. I remember thinking then that
someday
Barney would be joining her there. And that day has
come--Barney is
on his way back to Vada's side right now.
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