Jeff as the "Cowardly Lion"

With March coming in "Like A Roaring Lion" here in upstate NY, I think of Jeff's imitation of the Cowardly Lion in "Wizard of Oz." Jeff had a mighty roar!!~~~Here is an excerpt from "Journey With Jeff" called "Jeff's Roar." The quote, "Be strong and courageous" is from Joshua 1:7a -- "Sheila Matthews, on the staff at Jeff's residence says, 'One of the fondest memories I have of Jeff is the morning wake-up routine. I thought and thought about the difficulty of waking Jeff up because he was such a sound sleeper. One day I remembered how much he liked The Wizard of Oz, especially the Cowardly Lion. So I talked to him about the Cowardly Lion as I was calling his name to wake him. Once Jeff realized what I was saying, he would awake with a roar, then go into the different scenes from the movie. I'd try to do scenes along with him but he said, 'No Sheila, not that way. I do it.' No one could do the Cowardly Lion like Jeff, which is why he was cast in the role for the LAI play.' Sheila continues, 'The other memory I have of Jeff is how he tried to scare staff members. Jeff was not very steady on his feet so you could hear him coming. But almost everyday Jeff would try to scare some staff person and I do believe a few times he actually got some of us. Doing direct care with Jeff and many of the other South Avenue gang were some of the greatest times I had in this agency. When Jeff said he loved you, you knew it came from the heart. He is missed but not forgotten. The closing prayer: Lord God, we give special thanks for the staff on night shift, responsible for getting the residents on their way in the AM. It's so easy to forget about those we never met. Bless them good, Lord!! Amen." (The photo is from the LAI production of Wizard of Oz with Jeff as the Cowardly Lion, and Claudia as Dorothy.)

Jeff's Enthusiasm

John McCarthy was there at LAI's 30th Anniversary celebration, so after trying several times earlier, I was able to get a copy of "Journey With Jeff" into his hands. John was the one to encourage Jeff's love of acting. ~~~ The "Enthusiasm" chapter in the book is their story. ~~~ "John, a recreation therapist at LAI, directed a residence production of The Wizard of Oz with Jeff in the role of the Cowardly Lion. He tells this tale: 'Everyone in the cast was doing a fine job playing their parts. When it was time for Jeff's entrance dressed as the lion, he let out a loud, ferocious, powerful, heart-felt growl! The audience thunderously applauded. Jeff did not merely say his line and play the role--for all practical purposes Jeff became the Lion. Jeff knew the story so well he was able to improvise dialogue with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and Tin Man. It wasn't a recitation of lines, Jeff lived the part and the audience felt his enthusiasm and believed his convincing portrayal of the Lion. That's typical Jeff. I've never met anyone so enthused about stories and movies than Jeff Reisch!"