JIM “PAPPY” MOORE: Fun Times in Toronto

Back in the 1990s I had a big case that involved the Canadian subsidiary of a U.S. concern. It took me to Toronto many times to meet with opposing counsel and our associate counsel to discuss and negotiate various legal and factual matters. The opposing lawyer was a woman named Connie Reeve. She bore an amazing resemblance to the actor who played Superman, Christopher Reeve. One day during a break in the action, I said to her in my best Texas drawl: “Connie, I can’t help but see the strong resemblance you have to Superman!” She laughed and said “he’s my first cousin!” We got along better after that. I think sometimes reaching out on a human level helps people get along.

During that same time period, on one of those trips, I ran into people you might remember from yesteryear. One day I was at the Houston Airport sitting in one of those elite areas run by a well known airline, sort of a major perk for those of us who traveled by plane frequently. They had little areas with two small couches facing each other. I was sitting there reading my newspaper when who should come walking in but the star of The Jefferson’s, Sherman Hemsley. This was years after his role on the Archie Bunker show “All in the Family.” After that came The Jeffersons spinoff. But he knew when I looked at him and smiled that I knew who he was. I looked him straight in the eye from four feet away and sang “Movin’ on UP … To the East Side!” He got a big kick out of that and we chuckled, then we went back to our business.

One of my favorite actors over the years is Matthew Modine. He starred in one of my favorite films “Full Metal Jacket.” As I have told many people no movie has ever shown Boot Camp as realistic as that movie. From the spit shine barracks floors, to the standard bunks, to the blanket party for the recruit who kept screwing up, to the cussing, to the screaming, to the inspections, it had it all. Modine starred as a character the Drill Instructor called Private Joker! If you’ve seen the movie, you know all about it, and if you were in the military during the 1960s, you know the film by heart. Well, one day I was in the Toronto Airport in the late afternoon, trying to make a flight to Houston that would get me home that evening. I was trying to get one of the airline people to let me carry on my sizable briefcase because I couldn’t be separated from it. Too risky. About that time I became aware of the fellow standing right beside me. I turned to see actor Matthew Modine with a huge grin on his face like he was enjoying the whole scene. I took one look at him and said “Private Joker!” He smiled really big as I told him his was my favor war movie ever. He was so gracious. The airline folks let me on after that, and I got home to my family that night.

The biggest event I had involved a singer whose music I have truly loved for decades. One of the Canadian lawyers I was working with up there told me someone famous worked out at his downtown gym. He told me it was Gordon Lightfoot. Then he asked me if I’d like to meet Gordon Lightfoot. I said “sure, but I don’t know how I feel about approaching him at his gym.” My buddy told me it would be OK, that everyone loved Gordon Lightfoot and since he had been working out to deal with health issues, he was a regular guy at the gym. So, I went with my buddy to the gym, had workout clothes I took with me because I liked to shoot baskets when I got the chance, and there I got to meet Gordon Lightfoot. He was about my height, with a slight build. Quiet guy. I didn’t want to intrude but my lawyer friend wanted him to meet his Texan lawyer friend. I decided I would say one thing and that was it. I told him The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was the best ballad ever written, and I could listen to it over and over. He gave me a sincere smile.

I’m not one to go around talking about celebrities and such, but I guess it’s about time I told this part of my years going to Toronto. I loved that city and ended up going there over a period of 17 years for a variety of matters. I always stayed at the same downtown hotel, with a great view overlooking a park that had an ice skating area usually filled with people during the cold months. And in the dead of winter, it is COLD in downtown Toronto! Like 15 degrees cold. There was a statue of Winston Churchill right beside the park. Great city. Great people, eh! They love to say “eh” after ending a sentence, sort of like a question, eh?