Rhode Island news
01:15 PM EDT on Monday, April 11, 2005
Frank the Moderator: Greetings all. I hope everyone was able to
read G. Wayne Miller's story on the Pells. He will be logging in
today at noon for your questions, comments and thoughts about the story
and the Pell family.
talk: Wayne -- How long did it take for you to get close to the
Pells. Were there many short meetings, or a few longer sit downs? Great
story thanks.
zoldano: What was the most 'remarkable' thing that struck you
about the Pells as a couple?
zoldano: Why do you think the Pells let you borrow their personal
scrapbooks for publishing?
Frank the Moderator: Wayne -- In your story, Claiborne is hardly
quoted, Nuala does all the talking. What sense did you get from the
Senator about this.
Apanciera: In an online guestbook that projo.com is running with your
Pell story, one of the posters talks about how fortunate Rhode Island
has been to have such "honorable" senators as Pell and the former and
current Chafees. Is there anything special about the old-money world
they come from that might lend itself to that?
Frank the Moderator: Will you continue to be in touch with the
Pells and will there be other stories.
Frank the Moderator: Wayne -- A question from a editor here in
the newsroom: What sense did you get of the Pell's spiritual life? Are
they religious people?
Frank the Moderator: Wayne -- A second question from a editor:
Who are the Pell's best friends? What do you think it would be like to
be a friend of the Pells?
Frank the Moderator: You touched on this in the story, a bit:
What is the Pell legacy?
Frank the Moderator: Thanks Wayne for answering some questions
this afternoon.
Please feel free to post questions now.
Thanks.
G. Wayne Miller: I met the Pells several years
ago when I wrote a series about a Newport summer. And then I have run
into them every year at a Christmas party in Newport. At the last one, I
asked Nuala if i could write this story. She ran it by Claiborne, who
said yes. So that was the beginning. I then spent several hours with
them over four separate days; Connie Grosch, who took the photos, spent
a day of her own. My first day there was relatively short, but the Pells
warmed up to the idea and I was there longer on subsequent days. I also
talked several times to Nuala by phone. Glad you liked the story! Thanks.
G. Wayne Miller: I guess the fact
that they have been married for 60 years. That is an extraordinary
achievement, especially given that both their parents divorced and
remarried. And they are still together now, with Claiborne so sick.
G. Wayne Miller: Well, I asked for
them -- any time I do a story like this, I welcome any additional
materil besides interviews that will help with the narrative. Then we
figured it would be nice to publish some of them. I asked Nuala and she
saw no reason not to. I think she and Claiborne are proud of what they
have done, and also, they have been such public figures for so long that
a glimpse into their scrapbooks wasn't anything off-putting.
G. Wayne Miller: He was there to correct
her, or to add -- sparingly, of course -- when she was telling the
story. The sense I got was that Claiborne was happy that he has her to
speak for him, now that he can barely speak for himself.
G. Wayne Miller
: It wasn't the old-money world per se, because most of the inhabitants
of that world do not get involved in public service. Nuala's parents,
for example. But Claiborne inherited a sense of nobless oblige from his
father and other relatives. It's actually a European practice: most of
the great Italian artists, for example, were supported in their work by
wealthy patrons.
G. Wayne Miller: I will
stay in touch with the Pells, because I found them so charming and
interesting. But I do not at this point have any plans to write another
story. I think I said all I have to say!
G. Wayne Miller: They are
Episcopalians, and the sense I got was that they followed that church as
many do: by attending Sunday services (although I don't believe
Claiborne does any longer). Their spirituality, though, I think comes
more from their commitment to the common good. And they have certainly
made good on that belief.
G. Wayne Miller: Bruce Sundlun is
one of their best friends. Norenn and John Drexel, of Bellevue Avenue.
But really, their best friends seem to be their children and
grandchildren -- they are the ones most often at Pelican ledge. What
would it be like to be a friend of the Pells? Fascinating. Nuala has so
many stories, has seen so much with Claiborne, I can't imagine a
friendship would be dull!
G. Wayne Miller: The Pell legacy
starts with the Pell Grants, which have helped so many needy students.
But it also includes a commitment to world peace, a clean environment,
and the arts and humanities.
We will have G. Wayne Miller again on Thursday
(from noon to 1 p.m.) to answer more questions about the Pells and his
story. Please join us then.
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