Read (My Travels with) Agnes Moorehead – The Lavender Lady for Free Online Page B

was nothing to write home about. Women, especially, were drawn to her. She had a certain quality of strength that they could lean on and there were often rumors that famous actresses cared for her more than it appeared on the surface. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know. I’m inclined to believe that all the amorous part of any relationship she had with women was not from her side but from the other side. However, I never was behind closed doors with her and other big stars.
    Agnes Moorehead’s father was a Presbyterian minister and she was, as I’ve mentioned, a fundamentalist; very hot on prayer and the Bible into which she would plunge at a moment’s notice. It was her crutch. It was important to her. A strong woman, she too needed support. She said, “My life has been ruled by my belief. Religion was always part of my childhood and it was this very education and training which made it possible for me to cope with these many problems without getting ulcers or rushing to consult an analyst.” She really didn’t think much of them. I really should have taken a clue. “I believe in the efficacy of prayer. I am a self-disciplined person and the Bible is my security, guiding me in that discipline.”
    This was a woman who had complete confidence in herself. She lived right, followed the Golden Rule and, though her weakness was money, she was a decent, fine human being. “You know she can fight it. I’ve had my share of disappointments. I grew up in the depression, but I was prepared to stand up to adversity and to face any situation, not escape from it. You hear so much talk about freedom today, but there can be no freedom without discipline. If you do not learn how to control your emotions, you are a slave to them in your every move. Permissiveness in society springs from the lack of standards. There must be a rule of behavior, an appreciation for basic values.” She intimated it. She believed in following the concepts of the Bible. You see, Agnes Moorehead was a complicated woman, yet she played her cards from strength. She said, “A child is born with a degree of primitive savagery and somebody must discipline it out of him. A child likes this discipline. He likes to know somebody cares. Discipline gives standards and values to live by, a basis for morality. Most young people don’t realize that.” I could have added that most adults don’t realize it, either. “It’s best to live by rules, especially if you believe in them.” Agnes Moorehead pointed that out and I agreed.



DRUDGE, DRUDGE, DRUDGE

 
    At this time, the hippy movement was just beginning and she didn’t like it at all. It really was the opposite of what she had been preaching and living by. She said, “Materialism has brought about confusion and decadence. The youth of today have their eyes open to what harm has been done by measuring a man by the size of his bank account, and I feel sorry that so few know where to turn because they have lost respect for those closest to them. Education in the school must merge with education in the home. I am sad for the rebellious youth who seek sensations in happenings that leave them unfulfilled. Where are the happy faces and laughter of the pure heart today? Such happiness can come only through hard work and prayer and discipline.” Always she put emphasis on that word “discipline.” As it turned out, she was right in almost everything she said. She’d go on for hours, I was to discover, about the lack of discipline of today’s young people. “I am proud to mention in our household there are still manners, she huffed. “If a lady comes into a room, my son has been trained to stand and remain standing until that lady is seated. People used to object. ‘He’s so little’, they’d say.’ Her eyes opened wider as she played those shocked individuals who objected. “He’s so young,” she mimicked.
    I thought, feeling so privileged to hear these things from her personal life, so