Paul Newman

Oh, we have lost a great, great, great man.

I was in the middle of doing dishes Saturday morning, the kids were watching TV and Shawn was on the laptop. "Did you hear who died?" he asked. I walk towards him and ask, "No, who?"

When my eyes hit the screen I am dumbfounded. My heart starts racing and I start to shake.

"Paul Newman, dead at 83"

Then the tears start. They are falling down my cheeks uncontrollably. I try to turn away so my family won't see. I go back into the kitchen and cry a little more while scrubbing away.

I didn't know this man, why has this hit me so hard?? Because I just LOVED him. I loved his acting, I loved his charity and I loved his racing. He was a great man! I know no man is perfect, but "they don't make 'em like they used to". He was the epitome of cool. What real men should aspire to be... Great... In every sense of the word.

I fell in love with him when I saw part of The Hustler when I was about 8 or 9. I've -sadly- only seen a handful of his movies. Shawn recently introduced me to Cool Hand Luke but his performances in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, The Color Of Money (reprising "Fast Eddie") and Message in a Bottle (as the grouchy/loveable Dodge) are AMAZING to watch.

Cole even knows him as 'Doc Hudson' in Disney's Cars

And from Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid came the selfless Hole in the Wall Camps. A camp just for kids suffering from illness. A place for them to play and interact without the burden of their illness. Camp Korey in nearby Carnation, WA was just opened in 2007.

Funny that most of "my" generation probably knows him best for his dressings, etc.
What's not to love - it's delicious and it donates 100% profits!

"When I realized I was going to have to be a whore, to put my face on the label, I decided that the only way I could do it was to give away all the money we make. Over the years, that ethical stance has given us a 30 per cent boost. One in three customers buys my products because all the profits go to good causes and the rest buy the stuff because it is good." -Paul Newman on Newman's Own



This is how I got to know him in the last couple of years. Co-owner of Newman/Hass Racing. I've seen him in person at 2 Champ Car races in Portland and Las Vegas. Even then he looked frail. That his age was starting to really show. But man, what an icon.

I'm still at a loss for words. We lost a great, great man. I know the word is fairly generic but the man was not. Thanks Paul, for everything, I can only try and aspire to all that you've done.

Paul L. Newman
1925 - 2008