Thoughts about Tiny Tim

A few days ago I read "Memories of Tiny Tim," and I cannot stop thinking about it. I had no idea that his life was so troubled, particularly his childhood, his relationship with his parents, and his parents' relationship with each other. It breaks my heart to know that he went through all this and that it continued to affect him all of his life, as early experiences usually do.

The remarks he made about his parents on his second album particularly stick in my mind. After the first song, he tells his listeners that his success would not have been possible without them, then adds, "and, of course, my dear mother and father, who stood behind me all the way down that rocky road to success." In the interview that he conducted with himself as "Joe Viola" that begins the second side of the album, he talks about his parents' picture appearing on the album cover. He remarks, "There's no place like home where mother and dad are, and a mother's love is always a blessing."

It is a characteristic of children that they desperately want to believe in their parents and reassure themselves of their parents' love, to the extent that even children who have been viciously abused will resist being removed from their parents' custody. I wonder if these remarks were part of that childlike personality you described--an effort to believe in a "dear mother and dad" even when so much of his actual experience worked against it; faith in a blessing he never had.

Knowing that he now rests in the loving arms of the only perfect Parent is a great consolation.

Sincerely,
Eileen C.