Dear Paul..

 

Dear Paul,

You made many hearts flutter with your gorgeous baby blues.  You championed many causes, made others aware simply by putting your name in front of ith to get their attention, chose to be a real man rather than a womanizer (which would have been any easy choice) and stayed with your lovely wife through thick and thin, filled many pantries and refrigerators with your fabulous foods, but most of all, I will remember you for a night that was probably nothing more than ordinary to you.  When I was 16, my parents surprised me and my sister on our way back from visiting family in Canada and stopped in NYC for a few days!  We were so excited to see the Big Apple!  One of those nights, we ate dinner at a restaraunt called a Dish of Salt and while our patient waiter was trying to take our order, my mother glanced across the room and saw you and your wife dining together.  She was totally start struck and tongue tied and I'm pretty sure that he gave up and came back later to take her order when she had regained the gift of speech!  As a teenager, I thought it was cool to see a star, for my mom, it was even more since she had adored him for a long time!  Thank you Paul, not only for all you did for the public at large, but also for all the things you never even knew you did that touched our lives and made us feel even the tiniest connection to you!  Rest in Peace.