LOVE FROM SANTA PAULA AIRPORT!
After a heartwarming trip to the Santa Paula Airport this weekend, I can only say that I met so many people who endeared themselves to me with many new friendships and hours spent walking through hangars and sharing stories, sharing our lives, and seeing how inextricably each of us who loved and admired Steve McQueen (in my case from the age of 9) share a common bond. It was abundantly clear to me why Steve and Barbara fell in love with Santa Paula and their special neighbors who live on the airport grounds in beautiful hangars, as The McQueen's did. Each of us spent real "Quality Time" with Barbara, and it was so evident to us why Steve fell in love with this lovely lady and found peace during the last three and a half years of his life. It was simply put, a "once in a lifetime journey for me". Marhall Terrill and Barbara took questions after our dinner, and this included a special DVD presentation of Barbara's photographs of her life with Steve with a beautiful musical soundtrack. I must say, I never imagined I would be meeting the people who were so important to Steve, including the residents of Santa Paula who saw to it that he was loved, respected and accorded the privacy to simply enjoy being himself (after a remarkable film career in Hollywood). Saturday night, I believe we exceeded the attendance record we expected and raised funds for the Santa Paula Airport Museum. There will be much to share with you (including some of my photos of the event in the days ahead). But for now, I'm exhausted and just need to catch up on my sleep. We are announcing a change on this Blog site (while we prepare to relaunch with new photos in the weeks ahead). I'll sign off with this: To all of you in Santa Paula who will be following The Annual Steve McQueen Film Festival here next March (in our 4th season) Thank You for the gift of your generosity, your kind comments to me about my BLOG Feature, and your self-less love; we all felt it and it's great to know we are now life-long friends with a common bond that brought each of us together for this celebration of life!God Bless You!
Michael
posted by Michael Manning @ 2:15 AM
18 comments
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18 Comments:
Sounds like a wonderful weekend, Michael... Now put the word out as you are champion at doing - prayers are needed for little Trevor and for David who has surgery again today at Duke. Crank up the prayer chain my friend!
of course you made 100 friends!
im glad you are home safe, but i hope it didnt go by to fast, and the fun lasted!!!
MUCH LOVE
KinnicChick: lol to you! I have been in touch with David, as you have and you may be sure I will get the word
out in a separate BLOG post.
ALL: David M. Bailey's test results indicate his tumor is back after more than 12 years. And of course little Trevor is not out of the woods by any means. I will update here shortly.
Girl Rants: It was magic...pure magic. More ahead...lol! :D
Absolute coolness!!!!
i'm glad you have a wonderful time. i bet wandering around looking at the exhibits and meeting such incredible people was enjoyable.
A really cool looking post.
The power of memories turns anyplace special and magical. Sounded like a truly enjoyable visit and a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing and letting all of us experience it vicariously.
Monogram Queen: Hi, Patti! Yes, very much so. :D
Seraphine: That is VERY cool too! :)
Jean-Luc Picard: It was fun and I hope to share photos soon. :)
P M: THe residents of the airport were so kind. I walked the hangars with Steve's personal pilot for hours and we both commented that there was no one in sight who was tightly-wound with any hng-ups. They were all just extremely generous with their time and otherwise, "the genuine article". :) I'll share some carefully chosen photos shortly to share!
Sounds like the perfect weekend for you :)
Glad that you had such a wonderful trip!
Hope all is well with you and that you have a great week ahead.
Lots of love
Jess
I'm so glad you had an enjoyable time in Santa Barbara, Michael. :o)
Hmm, some changes on the blog, eh? I'm looking forward to seeing them.
Have a great week and get some rest!
Love and hugs,
Diane
Becky: We all spoke about it at great length, and I met some of the most incredible people. Visiting Steves home with Barbara was quite an experience and truthflly, a loving gift to each of us from Barbara herself. I will never forget it.
Diane: lol! All good changes ahead, yes. Very needed and I'm quite excited about it all. Thanks for the LUV, Diane! ;)
Jess: Love and Prayers back to You and Jason for being who you are and inspiring me. :)
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