At the tender age of six, I was a spoiled kid. In the course of a year, he had been through almost every childhood disease known to mankind. Measles, mumps, chickenpox, and constricted colon, as well as minor ailments like colds, flu, chronic earaches, and headaches. On top of all this, one day on the way home from school, I was chased by a group of children. When they caught me, they beat me badly. The beating included a kick to the eye which resulted in surgery and wearing an eyepatch for quite some time afterward. My mom was the type of person who would do whatever she could to make the best of a bad situation. She made an eyepatch and hand embroidered a skull and crossbones design on it. When I went back to school, all the kids thought I was the coolest.

Shortly after the eye surgery, I fell ill with a severe case of tonsillitis. My tonsils were extremely infected and I was rushed to the hospital. The morning after my surgery, a nurse came to see me and said that the lady in the next room wanted to meet me. The nurse put me in a wheelchair and took me to the next room. I immediately recognized the lady in bed as Irene Ryan, the actress who played “Granny Clampett” on the television show “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

At the time, “The Beverly Hillbillies” was one of the most popular shows on television. I was delighted when Mrs. Ryan introduced herself and asked how I was feeling. She asked me about my eyepatch and if I was a pirate, and I told her the whole story. We talked for hours about a lot of things: acting, pets, toy cartoons, TV and movies, and the cast members of “The Beverly Hillbillies.” We ate ice cream together; lots of ice cream We found out that we were both die-hard Los Angeles Dodgers fans.

I was a shy child, but his gentle personality and attentiveness put me at ease immediately. We talk as if we were old friends. Later that day, as she was being discharged from the hospital, she stopped by my room and gave me a small gift and an autographed photo. Her kindness and friendship left a great impression on me. Although this happened over fifty years ago, it is one of my favorite childhood memories.