"My Husband, Jack Kelly" - Pt. III

Happy Wednesday!

Here's the third part of "My Husband, Jack Kelly" by Mae (May) Wynn:

"This feeling dates back to an unhappy experience as a boy. He had always wanted a new bicycle of his own, but was unable to save enough out of his allowance to afford one. One day, he told me, he got a bright idea that would solve his problem: get a job in a bicycle shop to earn the money he needed.

Upon Kelly's pleadings, the owner of the store agreed to let him have the shiny two-wheeler after it was only half paid for, but warned him that he might not be able to keep him employed much longer. 'That's all right,' Kelly had said. 'In that case I'll just get myself another job...'

But when it happened, he couldn't find one. And the bicycle had to be returned.

It certainly taught him a lesson. Except for the house and one or two other expenditures which were too high to be paid for in cash, he would never buy anything on time--or let me get anything that way!

Caption: "The Kellys have to pay bills, too, and here
they go over their monthly bookkeeping. Poodle seems
unconcerned with such matters." :)

Come to think of it, it was his aversion to gambling that caused our only big argument in three years of marriage.

When I say he doesn't like to gamble, I don't mean he stays away from all card games. He enjoys a good game of poker--but he knows the odds and plays accordingly. It is almost like a business venture with him.

Not with me. I always liked to play cards simply for the pleasure I got out of it. And one night I somehow accomplished the impossible--by losing $150 in a nickel and dime game.

After our guests had left, Kelly turned to me disgustedly. 'You played stupidly,' he exclaimed.

'What do you mean?' I shot back.

'You don't know when to quit! You stay in the game with every hand till the last card is played...'

That did it! 'I played poker before I met you. Don't tell me how to play. Besides, I don't care whether I win or lose...!!'

Kelly stared at me disbelievingly. 'In that case, why don't you just give away $150?'

Before I had a chance to answer he had gotten up, walked out of the house, and sat down on the front steps to cool off.

By the time I had a chance to reason things out for myself, I couldn't help agreeing that Kelly was right. So now when we get in a game, I play to win, just as he does.

Incidentally, this was one of the very few times that I have seen my husband lose his temper. Generally, it's next to impossible to even make him mad and, believe me, there are times when I've given him good reasons! Like with my backseat driving."

STAY TUNED FOR PART IV! :)

The Kelly Pages: Additions to the Kellection!--Pt III :)

Howdy!

Sorry I couldn't post Pt. III sooner. My internet connection was acting up--grrr, I hate when that happens! It's behaving pretty well now, so on with the show! :)

Here's a wonderful pic of Jack Kelly from Silver Screen Annual 1959:



He's determinedly learning his lines for Maverick (the script is for the episode "Seed of Deception" ) as May Wynn and their pet poodle keep him company. The caption for this cozy scene is "Jack Kelly and May Wynn have just one rule for matrimonial success--be very very much in love."

The write-up reveals another factor JK thought was crucial for marital bliss:

"While Jack Kelly has no formula for a happy marriage, he has one concept which, he feels, has a good deal to do with how well two people can get along together. And this point of view dates back to an experience he had when he was 11 years old and one afternoon got the bright idea of how to get a bicycle he had wanted for so long.

In return for his promise to pay it off in weekly installments, he talked the owner of the bicycle shop where he worked after school into letting him have a shiny new two-wheeler.

Soon Jack realized he couldn't meet his payments. After worrying about it for a couple of weeks, during which he made himself and the rest of his family pretty miserable with his brooding, he had no choice but to give it back.

Even his father had turned down his request for financial assistance. 'He wanted to teach me a lesson about finances, and he certainly did,' Jack recalled. He said never get anything you can't afford. It causes nothing but trouble.'

Consequently, when Jack, who plays Bart Maverick in the ABC-TV series, married actress May Wynn at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in 1956, he was so firmly convinced that the cornerstone of every successful marriage is to be free of financial worries that he and May agreed never to buy anything in installments. The only exception was their house, and even then they didn't put it in escrow till they had enough money in their bank account to equal the loan they took out on the property."

Hey, JK sounds like a regular Dave Ramsey! :->

Coming up next: What was so special about Saturday night at the Kelly's home? (No, it wasn't bath night.) ;->