4 days with Barbara Harris: I get to Scottsdale and call
At my Airbnb, I let the Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee know that I have arrived. We pick our meet-up location.
B Hi
M Hi! how are you?
B: I’m so goooood. How are you? Are you here?
M: I just got in. It’s hot.
B Are you in a hotel?
M I got an air-bnb. I wanted to stay around Scottsdale because it seemed easier to walk around.
B: Scottdale, you can’t meet anyone. They all say hello, and they say let’s get together, and then they don’t. But any place that isn’t rooted in our roots, you never know who is going to say what, and if they are going to do what they say, and what’s going on…
M How do you deal with the summers here?
B It’s getting cooler! I don’t know. I don’t know why I picked this. Two people I knew lived here, and I was close to them. And I didn’t realize.
M When did you move out here?
B Yup, because I didn’t know where to move, and you run out of money moving. Where am I going to go? California is expensive, NY is impossible, that’s where I really belong. I would love to be back in NY.
M Have you been there recently?
B In the past year or two, yeah, it’s contagious, I love it. I’m here for now. Barely making it now, most of it got burned out.
M Well, for now. Step by step.
B I told you my by inch by inch is a synch, yard by yard is very hard…
M That’s good.
B I lost so many people. I was planning to go back to Chicago, for one of my best friends, from early on childhood, and he died. You can’t go for your friends, cause they die on you! Just settle where you can work. Work comes first and then you create friends. People do it, but I’m pretty shy about it.
M Making friends?
B It’s hard for actors, I think actors are too separated. People want to know what they are about, and then they leave them. It’s sort of, I think, hm, I remember getting my first car in NY and I went to get insurance, and actors were listed under “call girls” and “bartenders.”
M Wow.
B And then one day I went to the bank, and she said something snotty about being an actor. “Well Ronald Regan was an actor,” I said. And she said, “that’s true.” People say, tear that thing down. With my old friends, that goes away, people like Ed Asner I knew from seventeen. People I know from a long time ago, I have no problem with. People here are just snowbirds. Sometimes they nod and say hello and sometimes they don’t.
M I guess they aren’t warm. Snowbirds.
B I like neighborhoods. You know like in Chicago, you knew people in the building for like a hundred years…but I’m used to it. As long as I stay busy. But I’m living in a quarter of a house…I have things to do all day…are you busy today?
M I mean, I’m not. I can work around you.
B I have all these doctor’s appointments.
M How is that going?
B It’s going better. They don’t even think I need a pacemaker now, so I have to be at the doctors at 5:30. It’s a really neat place if you wanna walk around. Maybe we could get some supper?
M Sure, if that works for you!
B You don’t have a car…
M Yes but there are car services now.
B You’re probably on what’s his name? The one who ran over someone the other day.
M Oh Uber…
B My car is just a disaster. We could eat at this place. It’s a shopping center. It’s all new but there is a Barnes and Nobles, and grassy areas and little restaurants. I’m seeing black dots, that supposed to be a bad sign. That’s when my mother went blind…
M Did you just look into the sun..?
B Maybe…
M I can meet you at about six thirty.
B I might be a few minutes late, would you understand?
M NO! Of course…
B It might be quarter to seven. I’ll try to rush the doctor.
M No don’t rush the doctor.
B Ok…
M There isn’t a Barnes and Nobles, it seems, according to the map.
B Am I wrong?
M Well I would hope there would be a bookstore. Let’s meet in front of Papyrus.
B WHAT?!
M It’s a stationery store.
B No!
M I guess you’re not into paper maché…
B Oh God…
M What about Sur La Table?
B Yeah yeah, I know that. Maybe you can find a place to sit, or a restaurant. You can shove round those stores, it’s cute…
M I’ll look at the restaurants. Is there any kind of food you like?
B I like Italian food. There are so many restaurants here, I cannot even breathe. I don’t know what you’re willing to spend, they go up to the top and down. We could end up in a deli, or a five star, four, three, zero.
M Don’t you worry about it. I’ll look it up.
B So I’ll see you around 6:30, quarter to seven.
M You got it.
B I’m sure I’ll find it.
M Whatever.
B Whatever. You’ll see what I mean, it’s fun. You’ll find a dirty old car…maybe… in case you wanna check it out…
M I’ll check out your wheels…