MEETING DARTH VADER IN GETTYSBURG

It's not often you bump into the real Darth Vader, but I had the honor and pleasure of meeting the man whose voice helped make the dark side of the force a household catch phrase. I met the distinguished James Earl Jones this week at the Gettysburg Festival where he took center stage for a sold out event called A Lincoln Portrait. The program was composed by Aaron Copland in 1942 and was intended to give comfort to our nation during WWII.

Photograph by Bert Danielson, Gettysburg Festival

As you can well imagine, Mr. Jones gave an impeccable performance reciting the inspirational quotes of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Jones is not only a fine actor, he is a gentleman as well. I was very impressed.

Photograph by Lester Cohen

Another thing that impressed me about James Earl Jones was the fact that as a young boy he did not have any control over the powerful voice he harnesses today. He had a severe stuttering problem that caused him to remark years later, "One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter." Thank goodness his schoolteachers had the insight to help him. They allowed him to read his own poetry aloud to his class. Today, James Earl Jones claims that he still struggles with his speech. He takes great care to think before he speaks. You would never know this by talking with him.

The following is an excerpt from a White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word. James Earl Jones is reading Shakespeare's Othello.