MY FRIEND WES ... 3 TIME “EMMY” WINNER

In 1958 I met and married my husband and we lived in New York City. One of our friends was Wes L., a Set Decorator for the day-time TV soaps, “Guiding Light” & “Love of Life”, as well as many other movie and stage productions. Wes and his partner were renowned for their elaborate dinner parties and we attended many of them.

When we moved from the city we stayed in touch for a few years but then our lives took different turns and the link was broken. We reconnected again this year when I made a trip to Palm Springs. I had discovered through mutual friends that Wes had retired there about 15 years ago.

I think we were both a little apprehensive about meeting again. It had been an entirely different world when we last knew each other but we quickly caught up and were soon as comfortable as we‘d always been. I was not at all surprised to find that Wes, as a Set Decorator, had been awarded an Emmy three times. He is extremely talented. I was pleased to learn that, in retirement, he was donating his time and expertise to a local museum and we made plans to visit there the next day.

The theme at the museum was “Wood-turned Objects of Art” and Wes had designed the three room display. Intricately turned bowls, trays and other wood items were placed in glass enclosed cases and then spotlighted. It was easy to see that Wes still had the special touch that had earned him his Emmy’s.

The next day we spent at the “Living Desert” and Wes presented three miniature figurines of Meercats to me as a memento of our day. Another night, after dinner with our mutual friends, Wes gave me another small gift. This was a “gold” doubloon, one of many that he’d saved from a collection of fake coins that were used on one of his TV Soap segments to simulate stolen treasure.

When I came home to North Carolina I arranged these items like a small tableau at the base of a large rubber plant that I keep in my kitchen. The little Meercats stand straight up and form a circle around the “gold” coin. They seem to be keeping a stern watch that it won’t be stolen and, sometimes, I think they are keeping a stern eye on me too !