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Her spare hours off-camera, rare these days, mean another kind of work
for Debbie. She is devoted to the Thalians, young show-business people who
help emotionally disturbed children like the boy above. But first and
foremost she's a mother who loves to play with daughter Carrie (below).
begun
By DEBBIE REYNOLDS
problems, her plans and bright hopes for the future
more than events of the past year or so that lead
me to think this way. Mostly, it dates back to my
early upbringing, and particularly to my religious
faith that God can guide us through any difficulty.
I have always enjoyed a close family relation
ship. I don't think I have ever cried in front of
anyone but my parents. That's the reason I man
aged to keep so calm during the trying days of my
divorce last year.
I wasn't being noble. I wasn't trying to be the
heroine. I kept my emotions to myself simply be
cause that's the way I am.
Because my family has always been the pre
dominant factor in my life, when I was faced with
marital problems it was only natural that I turned
to my children for consolation. They gave me not
only the incentive to carry on but all the joy and
happiness I could ask for.
Watching them, I can't help seeing myself all
over again, as I used to be. Particularly Carrie
who, among other things, has inherited my temper.
One Sunday afternoon, for instance, she was
playing with her toy piano when one of the tiny
wooden legs came off. The harder she tried to. fix
it, the less successful she was and, of course, the
angrier she became till finally she flung the toy
into a corner, breaking off the other leg as well.
I knew I should have punished her, but the best
I could do was to keep from laughing out loud. I
saw myself smashing my favorite Shirley Temple ,
doll, which I had sold many magazine subscrip
tions in order to buy.
What made it worse in Carrie's case was that the
instant she stomped away, Todd came over, picked
up the pieces, and patiently screwed both legs back
into place. When he handed it back to Carrie, it
made her all the angrier. To show Todd and me
that she could fix it herself, she yanked -the legs
off the piano again, only to give up the task a few
minutes later and let her brother complete the job
a second time.
I used to have such temper tantrums till I was
about 19. I only hope that my experience will
help me guide Carrie. '
My own anger was usually the result , of frus
tration about something I wanted to do, and couldn't
or at least not fast enough to satisfy me. Like
learning to tap dance.
I have felt dancing was important to my career
ever since I got into motion pictures after winning
a Miss Burbank contest. When my friend Camille
(Continued)
Family Weekly, February 14, 1960 7