The photographer from afar… a smile.

“Mr. Walker,” said the eager young voice on the phone. “I am working on a story about how you and your neighbors banded together and removed the snow from your street and uh… I was wondering if you would be willing to be interviewed. You know, for the article?” she finished, sounding hopeful.

I turned this new information over in my mind. Was this for real? “Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?” I finally said.

“I’m sorry Mr. Walker. I am calling from the Idaho Statesman newsroom,” she said, sounding embarrassed, “I am an assistant reporter on staff, and yes, I really am working on this story for publication.”

How odd I thought, that anyone out there would be interested in what seemed like a perfectly logical and mundane thing to do… hmmm.

“Well okay,” I said. “Sure.”

I was feeling rather amused at the whole idea. This must be that ‘15 minutes of fame’ I keep hearing about. Some ‘expert’ has said that everyone in their lifetime gets their fifteen minutes of fame in the public eye, and I guess I was going to be famous for snow removal! ‘How amazing!’ I thought.

And so, I did the interview.

Jessica Continuing to Improve.

During that same time, Jessica had continued to respond and become much more engaged in her daily life. Sometimes it took the form of protesting angrily and hollering and showing a little temper. On New Years day, She sat up unsupported. Clasping her hands in front of her, and much to our delight, she sat bolt upright, once again looking rather pleased with herself.

I am not really sure how the word got around. Maybe it was from our therapist or our nutritionist, but one of the things that Jessica would do from the very beginning was eat well. Therefore we filled her full of every good thing we could, supplementing her pureed diet with vitamins and supplements, and she responded very well.

We had her drink from a bottle with a heavy rubber nipple to improve the muscle tone in her lips. We also followed special procedures with her spoon feeding, to train her tongue, to trying to proactively control,the always present choking hazard.

Jessica was the model patient and word of her success eventually got around and this culminated in an interesting series of events which once again involved our daily newspaper. It seems we hadn’t completely used up our ‘15 minutes of fame’ after all.

Arnold Gold, Photojournalist.

“Mr. Walker,” the young man nervously began, “My name is Arnold Gold. I am a photography intern for the Idaho Statesman.” I thought, ‘Holy cow! They are coming back to take pictures of our street,’ but that was months ago, and the snow was long gone!?

The promised story about our street snow removal had, in fact, been published as a potential model for dealing with ‘local snow removal crises’ in the future. I was even quoted in the article.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do, said Jim Walker, of North 30th Street.” Oh brother, we all got a big laugh over the ‘fame’ we had achieved.

It had actually seemed a little silly to me at the time.

“I am calling about your little girl, Jessica.” I snapped back to attention. “I have been assigned to do a human interest photo and short story about her progress. I am a photojournalist,” he finished, by way of explanation. I was speechless.

The Meeting.

Arnold Gold stood shyly on the front steps, as I answered the door a few days later. He had recently graduated from Syracuse University in New York state, and applied for an internship at our paper in Boise, Idaho. He had come in second, the first place guy came, and for some reason didn’t want to stay, and so Arnold had landed the job.

He was a very polite and intelligent young guy, I thought, as he gently probed us about Jessica, while fidgeting absentmindedly with his camera bag. He finished up by asking permission to see her and perhaps shoot a few test shots. We said sure and he reached in his bag for his camera and began fiddling with the settings as Renée went to get little Jessica.

In his mind, Arnold was thinking, ‘This is a story with a lot of potential., as he adjusted his camera, ‘This family has something to tell.’

Arnold was sitting on the wing back chair in the corner of the living room, a vantage point he had gravitated to with the adroit lighting instincts of a photographic artist, placing himself in perfect position to take advantage of the gentle afternoon sun, now streaming in the window.

Renée entered the room with Jessica, as I spread out a large colorful comforter on the carpet in front of an eager Arnold Gold. It was his first assignment, and he was ready.

Jessica Starts Smiling.

Jessica was placed on her back at a right angle to the now ready camera. She looked pleasantly around at Arnold and broke into her first ever smile. With her dimples showing and her eyes sparkling, as she made eye contact with the lens.

“Click,” went the camera, as we watched in amazement!

After all of these years, Jessica was smiling! She was really smiling with glee at this photographer who had traveled so far to take her picture. The whole scene was a very precious moment. And it was now recorded on film through this interesting chain of events.

A few days later, the picture of ‘smiling Jessica’ was published in full color in the newspaper… a rarity in those days. It was so well received, that Arnold asked our permission to do a follow up assignment, and a more in-depth story.

After witnessing Jessica’s reaction to their first meeting, we of course gave him permission. Just as we had anticipated, he carried out the assignment, with tenderness and empathy. He spent a lot of time with us that Spring, and when he wrote the story, it was published as a two-page spread, full of touching photography. It was entitled, ‘Jessica, the Blessed One’.

Arnold did an absolutely marvelous job, and even when read today, it is a heartfelt and moving story. The spread received a national award from the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) in 1984.

A pretty big honor for a job well done.

The Leaving.

Just before the story ran, Arnold Gold dropped by our house. He seemed nervous, and had something on his mind. As he tried to make polite small talk, suddenly Renée said, “You’re leaving us, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “ I am leaving tomorrow.”

It was a sad day, because we had grown quite fond of him and his sensitive way of doing his work in the midst of our family. So we went out for ice cream together, and the next day he zoomed out of our life. For a few years after, he returned to the East, we heard from him as he moved on to a successful career as a photojournalist.

The Reconnecting.

When I began to write ‘Growing Up with Jessica’ in 2004, I looked at the clippings and photos from our time with Arnold and I couldn’t help but wonder where he was and what he was doing. So, I sat down in front of my computer, logged onto the internet, and started searching.

I typed in several different combinations without any luck. Finally, I typed, ‘photography/arnold gold.’ I pressed return and bingo, there was his web site!

I sent him a quick email.

Arnold responded almost immediately. He was curious and amazed how I had found him, since his web site had been up less than a week! Just another interesting coincidence.

He remembered us of course, and commented that he had fond memories of our time together. He is now married and has a little girl of his own. He was humbled and touched by the interest I had in telling about his time with us, in my book.

I asked him for his recollections of that time and he said,

“Looking back, I feel like you were at a point where you wanted or needed to share your story, and I happened along at that point.” he went on to say, “I know now, as I knew then, that those were telling moments.”

After I sent him a copy of the manuscript to read, he thoughtfully responded…

“As I have a daughter now, I understand more intimately, the vulnerability and joy in their being, and so, Jessica’s story touches me on a different level. I also understand the immense responsibility of being a parent. It’s joyful, it’s aggravating and I always feel like we are laying the groundwork for the future.”

Just Another Mysterious Adventure.

We will never forget our time together with Arnold Gold, and the day of Jessica’s first smile. A very precious memory.

Just another mysterious and wonderful chain of events that always seem to surround little Jessica’s life.

Next Week: “Unexpected Help… the Vaccine Injury Act.”

I will continue to share the answers to the question “What happened to Jessica?” every Monday in the weeks ahead. When I have received sufficient feedback and questions, I will add a Thursday episode, as needed, to this blog, focused on answering your questions and comments.

Thanks for your interest.

Jim, Renee & Jessica