Oscars

[maisfeeka]

I know there are a lot of people out there who aren't happy about Clint Eastwood winning Best Director or Million Dollar Baby winning Best Picture - and let me say right now that I have not as yet seen the picture myself, so please don't feel the need to explain to me why you didn't like it as much as the others or why the others should have won or what have you.

This is purely a personal simple joy in the fact that a man whom I admire greatly and who is a hero to my family won several impressive awards.

Let me explain.

My aunt, Auntie Di, worked for Clint running the front desk at his Mission Ranch (and boy, his acknowledging those people there tonight really touched my heart). Almost 10 years ago she was diagnosed with cancer and, as she was partially paralyzed on her left side and wanted to be near her family she wanted to come back to Massachusetts for treatment. That way she could live with her brother's family and be near her mom and other siblings who could help her through this tough time. Her insurance company told her that if she got treatment elsewhere they were not required to cover it. She didn't know what to do. Her boss contacted Clint and he told her boss to tell Auntie Di to go home to get treatment and that he would *personally* cover the cost of everything until he could work it out with the insurance company and that she wasn't to worry about a thing.

About a week after she'd come back here her boss called and told her she needed to contact her bank and check on some things. She immediately was afraid that she'd been bouncing checks. He said, no, Clint had given directions that she continue to receive her weekly pay check all during her treatment so they'd set up a direct deposit and wanted to make sure it was going through all right.

When she became disoriented from the chemo and fell, breaking her hip, he called her personally in the hospital - told all the nurses they'd best take good care of her, making her a mini-celebrity and guaranteeing extra-good care. He told my aunt not to worry about anything, just get better and that her job would be right there waiting for her when she got back. She told him she wasn't sure she was going to get well enough to come back and he said it didn't matter - the job was there and she would be taken care of. All she was to do was to take care of herself and he'd worry about the rest.

When it was clear that the treatment wasn't going to work and she chose to go back to her home in California to die there he helped make it possible - and continued her paychecks.

When she died he again made sure that everything was taken care of and expressed his deepest sympathies to my grandmother, who had gone out to be with my aunt during her last days, and to the rest of the family.

My aunt wasn't some bigwig with any of his companies. She wasn't a close personal friend. She wasn't anybody "important". But he made sure that she was taken care of as if she was. He didn't have to do it and went far above and beyond what would have been expected from any employer in that sort of situation.

He did it because that's the kind of person he is. She was not a singular case, but one of many.

My aunt died just over 9 years ago and I know that wherever she is right now she is hooting and hollering and just tickled pink that he won. As I sit here typing through my tears, if I listen carefully enough I can just about hear her.

And that's why I feel so much joy in these wins.

Thanks for listening.