Donna Lennon, remembrance
Reflections: Norman Mailer at 100, ed. Gerald R. Lucas and Maggie McKinley (The Norman Mailer Society, 2023), p. 35; transcribed from the final interior PDF
From Reflections: Norman Mailer at 100 (The Norman Mailer Society, 2023), p. 35.
Thinking about Norman brought me back to the many times I was with him, observing him but never able to conclude which of the personalities I witnessed was the “real” him. I met him when I was in my early 30’s, he was in his early 50s. Over the years I watched him be gentle, caring, angry, gruff. He could be bold and belligerent as well as helpful and instructive. At the dinner table, he led the conversation to whatever topic he was pondering, and egged people on to propose their own thoughts, and challenge them.
My husband and sons told me I had many stories to tell about my encounters with Norman and I do — Texas Hold’em, the night he turned off the stove delaying dinner, getting upset when I liked The Magus but hadn’t read Ancient Evenings, being such an absolute asshole on the way to dinner that his sister and I wanted out of the car, there are more — however, there is one that stands out.
It was the day I was helping Norris pack her car when she was leaving P-town for Brooklyn. I was driving her to collect her mother in Orleans then to Hyannis for a rental car. A friend was going to drive them to Brooklyn and I was driving Norris’s car back to P-town. While we were busy carrying items out of the Commercial Street house to the car, Norman sat by himself in the living room and watched.
He was sitting in his chair, next to the one Norris sat in when they greeted guests. He said nothing during this moving parade, which seemed like hours, but when the time came to actually leave, he and Norris said their goodbyes. I was close by and could see they both were upset, Norman had tears in his eyes. I had seen him sorry for something before, but this was a deep, painful hurt. Not only a hurt (she’s actually going) but a tender, emotional hurt that left him basically without words.
Hard to imagine Norman Mailer without a remark.
Donna Lennon