The King of Camelot

Mom called me this morning all excited about the Ogilvy and Mather Reunion Party that they attended last night in Houston. She scared me at first because she said Dad almost couldn't go to Houston. He woke up so tired on Friday he wasn't sure he could get to the airport. I suspect it is part of the process of his body shutting down.

They did go, Ashley went with them, and Mom said it was fabulous. She said there were at least 100 people there and most of them came to see Dad. She said everyone who gave a speech referred to Dad as "a legend." I forgot to ask if Dad gave a speech. He probably did. I wonder if it was goofy. He gives goofy speeches. No one gets his humor, then Mom rolls her eyes and gets mad. Well, some people get his humor and they appreciate it. He has a very honest, somewhat risky sense of humor.

Dad was the King of Camelot. That's what they used to call him. Camelot referred to the years of advertising when he ran the Houston office of Ogilvy and Mather. The years before being an advertising man became a dirty word. They say Dad is the last of a breed of honorable ad men, and he stood out taller and more spectacular than any of the others. He was so well respected, and so good at what he did. I'm very proud he was the King of Camelot.

During the 1980's when AIDs became prevalent, there was a young man who was out of the office for several weeks when he was first diagnosed. When he was coming back, Dad called a meeting to talk to other people of influence about what they could do to make his transition back easy, and make him feel okay. One woman misunderstood Dad's message and said, "I was thinking we should get him his own coffee pot, he shouldn't use ours." I think Dad fired that lady on the spot.

Dad invented the Shell Answer Man (NO one knows who the Shell Answer Man was!). He made the commercial where the kids say, "And we-ah helped!" in thick southern accents (Shake and Bake .... most well known commercial of all .... ever!) He did the Prell pearl commercial, Mr. Whipple was our family friend (his daughter, my childhood friend, is now a Rockefeller) and he changed the way the country viewed plastics. He refused to work for the tobacco industry and almost lost his job for his refusal to do so. He cared about the people who worked for him, and they loved him for it. He had to fire one of his best friends once, but he gave him a lot of money from his personal account to help him find something else.

That's not all, but those are the things I remember the most. That and the parties Mom had at our house in Houston. Big, splashy, fabulous parties. The best parties anyone ever went to. That's why my wedding was so much fun. She really knew what she was doing. The Hostess with the Mostess for sure! After one party Dad had to come to the police station to pick me up. I'd been arrested for possession of pot. Bummer. Channing Hadlock stayed with Mom while Dad came to get me and I remember he thought it was very funny.

So Dad is King. I am so grateful to the people who gave that party. I am sure they know about the cancer and that was the reason they did it. I am grateful he got to be reminded how much he is loved by so many people.

Tomorrow Dad turns 84. He made it! I love you Dad.