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Grandpa Is a John Wayne Fan

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DR. WALLACE: My grandfather and grandmother moved into a house next to ours. They had been living in Boston, but my mom convinced her parents it would be much better if they moved closer to our family and it would be better for our family because Grandma and Grandpa are super people. We all love them very much. Both of them were born in Ireland. They still talk with a lilting Irish brogue. Grandma doesn't smoke, but Grandpa smokes like a chimney. We all have tried to get him to stop smoking for health reasons, but being a stubborn Irishman, he puffs away.

Grandpa is a big John Wayne fan. My mother remembers a column you wrote some time back when you interviewed John Wayne when he was dying of lung cancer. Will you please print that interview again? It just might cause Grandpa to decide that his family is more important than cigarettes. Thanks. — Patty, Rochester, N.Y.

PATTY: I am well aware how stubborn an Irishman can be. My father was also born in Ireland. Let's hope the following words from John Wayne encourage Grandpa to end his tobacco habit. It's never too late to stop smoking. The following is part of my response to a young lady, a smoker, who felt too much time is wasted talking about the evils of tobacco.

She didn't believe smoking was a health hazard:

Quite a few years ago, I had a wonderful experience of interviewing the famous John Wayne in Newport Beach, Calif. The visit was arranged for me by the editor of The Orange County Register. At the time of the interview, I was told that John had only two months left to live. He was a heavy smoker.

A few minutes into the interview, after I asked him his favorite film ("The Quiet Man") and favorite actress ("all of them"), he smiled and said, "Bob, I've followed your column in The Register for a long time. You have a huge responsibility to guide our precious young people. Someday when you are writing a column about the evils of smoking, remind them that it got the Duke. I saved many a damsel in distress and drove the herd through the Red River Valley, but I couldn't beat a simple cigarette — nobody can!"

Five weeks after my best interview ever, John Wayne left this Earth to meet his Maker.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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Comments

2 Comments | Post Comment
Most of my family isn't important, but John Wayne is.
Comment: #1
Posted by: Daphne
Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:31 AM
You know exactly what I mean. I don't want to have anything to do with you. Stay out of my life.
Comment: #2
Posted by: Daphne
Wed Jan 4, 2012 10:18 AM
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