Hello My Love. Where art thou?

[Meek]

    To quote my namesake: "There's nothing so restful as taking orders from fools."

     Mockery, it's my only weakness.


     "Meek"(mock is what Meek doth feed on)

[The Drunken Severed Head]

Almost three years ago at the Yahoo UMA, Terry wrote a plaintive valentine to his Helen, and mysteriously,  she seemed to answer back! Here is message #24715 by member (?) "helenchndlr":

--- In UniversalMonsterArmy(*at*)yahoogroups.com, "The Famous Monster of
Minneapolis" <fmofmpls(*at*)y...> wrote:
>
> My dear Helen. My heart is found heavy on this Valentine's day. It's
> been almost 40 years since Prince Sirki took you from us. And while
I was still a very young lad in those final and tumultuous years, I
> would eventually come to feel as if I've known you my entire life -
> or should have anyways. If only I could have been there to help fend
> off those demons. Demons of darkness and of spirits.

Dear Mr. Terry Ingram,

Thank you so much for such sweet, kind words. Oh, such words! No
barrier could have kept them from me, as strongly felt as they were.
And yet they were so tender! The mouth has muscles strong enough to
wound, even kill, but they can also make the gentlest kiss. And that
is what you gave me with your words, Mr. Ingram --a kiss through the
ether. So warm, yet lighter than a breeze! The words "Thank you" are
not enough to show how much they mean to me.

I never seemed to quite belong to any one place; perhaps if had felt
more truly tied to some place, someone, or some era, my life would
have been much different. Perhaps if I had finished growing up in
South Carolina, where I lived as a small girl, I would have bloomed
more slowly, and been sturdier. I remember the smell of magnolias in
the yard, and the sights and sounds of beautiful steeds, for my father
bred racehorses there in Charleston--so Spring there was like a
paradise! But Father sent the family out, taking us all to New York
City to live.

At first, I resented being uprooted, but soon I "bloomed," doing very
well as a student in a school for precocious children! I learned to be
an actress by 10, and at II, I was in my first Broadway play! By 15, I
was doing Shakespeare! In the 1920's I was interpreting many classic
roles. It was good to be alive at that time and in that place.

Still, to be working as an actress in the 1920's and 30's, while
changing who you only pretended to be, meant witnessing everyday
people's lives changing in REAL, far more dramatic, ways. Some
changes were for the better (sound came to movies, giving trained
stage actors like me plenty of work!), some were for the worse (the
Depression came and made life so hard for so many.) I was an actress
in Hollywood, and I did not feel like a real person.

But I wanted to be a child again. After I moved to Hollywood, I
thought I was going to play "Alice" in a film they wanted to make of
"Alice In Wonderland." But I was cast as poor, seduced Mina in
"Dracula," and when they finally got around to producing "Alice"
nearly two years later, no one would have ever considered me for sweet
little Alice.

It was worth it, though, for working with Bela was lovely. We talked
about the great playwrights, and the bad ones, and laughed over
memories of stage disasters. And drank together, though we never saw
the other intoxicated (except on the glory of pretending to be someone
else.) But we each sensed in the other how easy our own inner devils
might steal our souls, merely by encouraging us to have "just one
more" drink, or "just one more" injection, to ease our pain. Bela and
I were kindred souls; we both fought dark cravings far worse than what
we portrayed in "Dracula". As you know, he finally faced his, and won
his battle with them, bravely. But as for me, I had to be given a
taste of Renfield's medicine, and was committed to a sanitarium. I was
not as brave as Bela.

Reading of the love you have for the films made at Universal when I
was an actress in Hollywood, you may enjoy knowing that Colin Clive,
father to Mr. Karloff's Monster, was my father in the film
"Christopher Strong". And Bramwell Fletcher, who Mr. Karloff drove mad
in "The Mummy," married me in 1935. But I drove him mad in real life,
I'm afraid, with my drinking, and we divorced in 1940.

I did not know Mr. Karloff well, but Zita Johann told me once that
she saw deep pain and sadness in Mr. Karloff's eyes, though he never
seem to give in to his inner devils. I wished then I could be like
him. Bramwell said he was like a kindly father to all the younger
actors around him. Most importantly, he was a good example. Something
I wished very hard to be, but couldn't.

Some crossroads are difficult to cross. But the love and regard felt
by someone like you, Mr. Ingram, has no impediment. It reaches out
beyond all known limits and provides warmth for the "outward bound"
like myself. Thank you. It is an added lamp to my path.

Helen Chandler

[typhooforme]

Ah, that was a beautiful reply!  Here I was, all ready to say "Smock, smock, smock", and Max comes up with the golden moment from the past and totally disarms me!  High marks, Max! 

[ramsey37]

Coming soon: UMA the soap opera.

On today's episode of "As the Stomach Turns"....
George

[MageCoffinJoe]

Eu estou indo ser doente.

[fmofmpls]

Have they left yet? Hello .. anyone in here? Good. Now let's try this again without all the distractions. How could Helen possibly take me serious with all the tom foolery that's taken place here?

Ahem. Uh .. Helen, are you there? It's me Terry. I want to apologize for all the nonsense that you've witnessed here. I didn't intend for these guys to follow me inside this thread here. I thought we were alone when I was speaking to you. I can't seem to shake these guys. They're gone now. Can you come out please? Don't be mad. I booted Richard Olson out of the group for his rude behavior. I promise it won't happen again.

Say listen .. I drove by your old apartment today. You know, the Fleur De Lis Apartments in Hollywood? I just needed to go somewhere where I could be near your energy. The place still looks pretty classy on the outside. I'm sorry if this brings back painful memories of your accident.



I felt drawn to go inside and take a look around. Helen, I felt your presence within these walls. I decided to sit a spell and imagine what it must have been like to share a cocktail with you inside the lounge area.



Helen, I must have sat there alone for over 4 hours before the apartment keeper asked me who it was I was waiting for. I told him I was waiting for Helen Chandler. He told me that no one lived there by that name. Oh Helen. 

[Meek]

    Humph! Is there a doctor in the house? We need some mental white-out over here!

    Who'd a thunk it that our Herr General would become an idle roomer--and a lovesick one at that.

     "Meek"(my hair doth stand on end--oh, wait--static electricity, never mind)

[MegoZéDoCaixão]

Hahaha... Este humano olha em vão para um espírito que não esteja lá. É louco! Mas é melhor do que o general falso do UMA com a cabeça da abóbora...

[Meek]

   Terry---I've just gotten a message from beyond and Colin Clive said,very politely, to " Once and for all, shut yer cakehole about Helen Chandler."
   
   The English have such a way with words, don't they?


    "Meek"(Bob's yer uncle)

[Richard]

Ahem. Uh .. Helen, are you there? It's me Terry. I want to apologize for all the nonsense that you've witnessed here. I didn't intend for these guys to follow me inside this thread here. I thought we were alone when I was speaking to you. I can't seem to shake these guys. They're gone now. Can you come out please? Don't be mad. I booted Richard Olson out of the group for his rude behavior. I promise it won't happen again.

I've learned my lesson and have decided to turn over a new leaf.
If I hand over the negatives to the other 49 nude images* of Helen, can I come back in the group?
Reformed and repentant,
Richard

*...will also surrender some remaining articles of her clothing from the photo shoot.