Modern Screen (Dec 1949 - Nov 1950)

be sees my picture in magazines and 03.s running to show me, she has never gen me on the screen and has shown no aterest in doing so. But the other day she aught me a lesson. Sue came into my bedroom after a walk i the hills with Nana. Her face was shinig and there was a bit of the devil in er eyes. I wondered what was coming, hen she tilted her head to one side and lere was a scoffing tone in her voice. "Hello, Lana Turner,"' she said. I smiled at her. "'Hello, Cheryl." There was sudden disbelief written on er face, and she burst into a storm of ;ars as she threw herself into my arms. "What on earth is the trouble?"" I said, ill not understanding. "'Oh, Mommy — Mommy!" she choked etween sobs. "You are my mother — my lommy!" Only then did I realize what had hapened. In her mind she had separated her tother and Lana Turner, the actress, into *'o different people, and when I answered er as Lana Turner she was frightened. I held her and soothed her as best I 3uld. When at last she was quieted and joked up at me with a tear-stained face told her, "There's no difference, Cheryl, one at all. I'm your mother and always 'ill be and I love you very much. . . ." My little girl, as you may have guessed, fond of cowboy clothes, cowTboy moies, cowboy songs — anything that relates ) the subject. One day she came to me ad told me that she would like to have a 13SO. "How much money do you have?" I ;ked her. "A nickel and three pennies." "I'm afraid that isn't enough to buy your isso. Haven't you saved any more than ,ght cents from your allowance?" "Yes, but everything except my eight ;nts is for the poor hungry, small ones i England." '"Then you can't very well have your 3S0." 'TU charge it," she announced. Bob, who was in the room, made a face id muttered something about a chip off le old block. I made a face back at him id turned my attention to my little girl. "I suppose you could do that," I told st, "but then, you see, you'd have to use ,dut allowance for next week, and many eeks after that, to pay on your charge :count. It isn't a very wise way to handle Dur money." "I guess not," she said thoughtfully, hen she straightened up, filled with relive. "I'll charge it anyway," she said, id marched out of the room. 'Now, where do you suppose she arned about charge accounts?" I said abntly. j"I can't imagine," said my husband. I 'iew a cushion at him. . . . The day my little girl hurt herself, she came running to me holding one hand with the other, and I saw blood on the injured hand. The tears were ready to come as I took her arm and put it across my lap so that I might see the injury. "This is very interesting," I said. "What happened?" "Well, I put my hand in the puppy's dish." "When he was eating?" "Yes, Mommy." I had told her repeatedly not to do this. Now. at last she had learned. Perhaps it wouldn't have happened if my husband had warned her, for she's more obedient to him. The male authority is good for Cheryl. Before, there was only myself, and I admit I say "no" too many times. At any rate, my job now was to stop the tears before they started. "My goodness," I said, "how long do you suppose this scratch is?" My little girl was interested. "A foot long?" she said. "Well, I wouldn't say that long. Maybe an inch. Now we'll stop the blood. You see, this is how it's done." I wish it could be that easy all her life to take her mind from pain. . . . I'd been away from my little girl more than four months when I finally came home. She'd been sent home from New York with Nana when I had been ill, after our trip to Europe. Bob and I had been fishing while I recuperated, and though we were enjoying ourselves, I felt I couldn't stand to be away from Cheryl any longer. Bob, who's a better fisherman than I and therefore was having an even better time, was very understanding, and he said we'd go home. Our plane arrived in Los Angeles in the very early morning and dawn was just breaking as we arrived at the house. I ran up the stairs two at a time to Cheryl's room. She was sleeping when I tip-toed in, and for a long moment I stood by her bed and looked at her. Her hair was tousled on the pillow, and on her face was that lovely, pure expression of a sleeping child. "When I could stand it no longer, I sat on the bed and pulled her gently to me. She wakened slowly. At last she opened her eyes and looked at me through the sleep that was still in them. And when she realized it was I, her mind jumped in the peculiar way that children's minds do. "Oh, Mommy, I went for a walk yesterday and saw the prettiest horses!" And then, as the sleep rolled away she hugged me to her and said, "Mommy — it is really you? Oh, you're really home! You won't go away any more, will you?" I won't ever again. I don't think I'll ever separate from my little girl until the day she wants to go herself. When that day comes, I hope I have the strength and wisdom to let her travel alone. She has given me so much, my little girl. The End Advertisement THE MAN BEHIND THE RIDDLE (Continued from page 50) lanteclair, etc. He seems devoted to her. aybe Arlene is it. Until now, Lew has emed almost too spiritual for affairs of e heart. Frankly, I'm puzzled. Saint or sinner, ystic or man-about-town — which is the ue Lew Ayres? He's ethereal and earthy very kind, sensitive, but sometimes unnsciously cruel. A thinker, a dreamer, id a philosopher — and yet completely terested in matters of the flesh, like •od food, good living — and girls. He's a an who is, the longer you know him, e harder to understand. But the longer know him, the more I have to resnpnt him for, above all things, Lew Ayres is completely sincere. He was sincere when, not long ago, he almost had a fist-fight with a photographe. who snapped his picture with Jane Wyman at a night club. He loathes publicity. He was sincere when he told a friend of mine recently that the only movies he wanted to make were "helpful" movies. Lew will talk as little about his war heroism as he will about the dozens of girls he dates. (But they come later in our story.) Rarlv in 194? Via wac cpnt +r» on n^. PULL UP A PILLOW, j^J^ pretty, and let me tell you about my dreamy JOAN LANSING f.M. That's my Favorite Man — and he answers to the familiar name of JOHNNY OLSEN, one of the great entertainers on the air. Of course, I have to share him with millions of admiring mademoiselles from 6 to 60, but he's still the lad who elicits "oh Johnny's" from me whenever I tune in on his "LADIES BE SEATED" program. Why, I'm just about glued to the chair while JOHNNY cavorts through a half -hour of fun with the females. And all those wonderful games and prizes! Incidentally, you'll find it most rewarding, too, participating in the "LADIES BE SEATED" Kindly Heart Award. JOHNNY tells all about this heartwarming listener feature on the program every week-day afternoon. You can join my generous JOHNNY (dear F.M. that he is) over your local ABC station at 3:30 P.M. (EST). When he says "LADIES BE SEATED" . . . kerplunk! . . . down I sit for a relaxing time, enhanced by pleasurable puffs on the F.M.'s (and my) favorite cigarette, Philip Morris, of course. BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE, there's no place like heme . . . especially when it houses ART LINKLETTER'S happy "HOUSE PARTY," one of the nicest places to visit come high noon any weekday. This jovial jamboree takes the cake for being one of the gayest sessions sparking the airwaves. Hear Pillsbury's "HOUSE PARTY" (better batter that cake with Pillsbury, pretty!) with ART LINKLETTER, than whom there is none better, noon to 12:25 P.M. (EST) on ABC. GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES MORE, (wasn't that a "pop" tune once?) 'cause there's five minutes more to complete the half-hour link with "LINK." In this gal's opinion WALTER KIERNAN can't be beat when it comes to humanizing the news and making complicated, worldwide events seem simple, even to me. He's really been around, too . . . and how I do envy the experiences he's had interviewing the outstanding personalities of the day. Catch KIERNAN keynoting the news with "ONE MAN'S OPINION" every Mondav through Friday, at 12:25 P.M. (EST) over your local ABC station (yep, it's another wonderful Philip Morris program). MY TUNING TIPS Breakfast Club 9:00 A.M. EST Don McNeill's wake-up-time. Modern Romances 11 :00 A.M. EST Stories of human emotions. Bride and Groom 2:30 P.M. EST Boy meets girl — and weds. ebon UooSiocp