I was saddened to hear about the passing of Elizabeth Taylor earlier this month. One of my favorite movies is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, starring Liz and Paul Newman. Elizabeth Taylor is such an icon for Hollywood and although her acting could sometimes be over the top, there is just no denying her talent.
Oddly, one of my favorite memories of my Great Grandmother Patterson revolves around Elizabeth Taylor. Here is what happened:
My Great Grandmother Patterson (Grandma Pat) lived in Gridley, CA and my mom and I would often drive over and visit her. As most grandma’s do, she loved to dote on me (I was the only grandchild that lived close by) and she would often say to me, “Carey, you are so pretty; you look just like Elizabeth Taylor.”
Now, let me clarify something. At this time I was roughly 5-10 years old. And all I knew of Elizabeth Taylor was this:
And so you can imagine my confusion and embarrassment that my Grandma thought I looked like… that. In fact, it made me really self-conscious and I didn’t want to ever hear about Liz Taylor.
And then one day on the way home from Gridley my mother finally put the record straight. She explained that when Grandma Pat was thinking of Liz Taylor, she was remembering this girl:
Now… I really wish that I looked like the Liz Taylor from these photos because I think she is just stunning. But besides both being brunette, I don’t think there is much resemblance BUT I finally understood that my Grandma was paying me the highest compliment that she could… she was comparing me to one of her beauty idols.
Grandma was forgiven.
