Paul Wilson and his daughter Marty
Interview transcript
PW: One day I was waiting in the lobby for the elevator … the door slid aside, and there she stood — the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She was the operator.
There were three or four other people on the elevator, and I was the last one on floor number ten. And she opened the door and I said,”Thank you” and she said “You’re welcome.” That was the total conversation that first contact. Course, in the next few days, I saw her. But I was so backward and bashful that I didn’t say anything to her except…ten.
(MS: laughs)
PW: She said, “Yes, I know. (laughs) Thank goodness she broke the ice. She said, “Do you know where you can get some good chop suey?” How bout that for an opening line? (laughs) I said “Sure.” The cafe across the street is a Chinese cafe. They serve chop suey.
MS: I sense that she set that up. (laughs)
PW: I realized later she did. When I said I eat there every day she said, “Oh?” (laughs) I realized I had an opening, and we had chop suey and we got acquainted. I found out her name was Wilma. She found out my name was Paul. I found out that she was divorced and had a two year old girl. She found out I was about to be drafted. Well that wasn’t good. Well you know what, I think it was two days later she brought that little girl downtown.
MS: This is Barbara.
PW: This was Barbara.
MS: She was my older sister.
PW: That’s right. Barbara was two years old. She had a little red snowsuit, white fur hat, white fur muff that she was proud of. And when her mother introduced me to her, she held her arms out to me, and I was done for. Well, I did go away to war. Your mother waited for me three years. We got married right there in my mother’s living room and uh, we had a sixty-three year honeymoon.
And, as you often say to me, when we part company, you say, “Life is good.” And I have to think, yeah, life is good even though I’ve lost my sweetheart.
MS: Who was it that said, “The best thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother?”
PW: I did my best.
MS: You did.
PW: We were real lovers. And uh, everyday is a memorial for her.
