Don Blanding, and The Little Girl Across The Street.

As a child Billie ( Lucille ) loved to dance. She danced all around the house & hoped one day that she would become a famous dancer.

At first Billie would walk around the house on her toes, hoping that someone would notice her. Her mother Anna never did & Billie was upset by that. Then one day while Billie was walking on her toes, her brother Hal walked past, He usually didn’t pay any attention to little Billie & didn’t care what she did, but surprisingly Hal spoke up & said, “Why are you walking around on your toes like that? Did you hurt  your foot?”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Billie  Billie was surprised that Hal had noticed & she excitedly spoke up & said, “Because I’m going to be a toe dancer”. Hal looked strangely at his little sister & just walked out the door. He didn’t seem impressed. Billie was hurt. She thought this was the greatest news.

Finally Billie got sick of walking around on her toes. Hal noticed & abruptly announced, ” So, you got tired of being on your toes?”. Billie smiled & said, “No, I’ve changed my plan. I’m going to be a tap dancer”. Hal shrugged, and never believed his sister for a minute. Billie felt completely opposite. She was sure she was going to become a famous dancer.

Dancing was Billie’s pastime. She felt happiest while she was dancing barefoot around the house. Billie’s mother told Billie, not to walk around barefoot, You might hurt yourself” she used to say. Billie never paid any attention, thinking nothing would happen to her.

One day when Billie was six years old, she skipped barefoot outside, onto the cool wet grass of their Lawton home, when she stepped on a broken bottle. Billie cried. It was so painful & she looked down at her foot and noticed it was bleeding badly. Another thought was on her dancing. She knew that she would not be able to dance for a long time and that alone upset Billie.

While Billie was on the ground, bleeding and barely unable to move, a boy walked past and noticed that Billie was in need of help. He ran over, picked Billie up & carried her into her house. He applied a tourniquet and called for the doctor immediately. Billie was ever so grateful for the boy that saved her life.

The boys name was Don Blanding. He only lived across the street from Billie and was a senior at Lawton High.

Don was interested in Poetry and later grew up to become a poet. Years later in 1936, after Billie had become a star and was known worldwide as Joan Crawford. She was filming “The Gorgeous Hussy”, when Don arrived on the set to interview the stars. Joan knew exactly who he was and said, “Hello Don Blanding, do you know you once saved my life?” Don looked at Joan blankly. Little did he know that Joan was “The little girl from across the street.”

Not long after the meeting with Joan on the set of “The Gorgeous Hussy”, Don wrote a poem about Joan, which was later published and titled “The little girl across the street”

Below is Don’s poem, which was written & published especially for Joan.

THE LITTLE GIRL ACROSS THE STREET

She was just the little girl who lived  across the street,
All legs and curls and great big eyes and restless dancing feet,
As vivid as a humming bird, as bright and swift and gay,
A child who  played at make-believe throughout the livelong day.
With tattered old lace  curtains and a battered feather fan
She swept and preened, an “actress” with  grubby snub-nosed clan
Of neighborhood kids for audience enchanted with the  play,
A prairie Bernhardt for a while. And then she went away.
We missed  her on the little street, her laughter and her fun
Until the dull years  blurred her name as years have ever done.
. . . . .
A great premiere in  Hollywood… the light, the crowds, the cars,
The frenzied noise of greeting  to the famous movie stars,
The jewels, the lace, the ermine coats, the  ballyhoo and cries,
The peacock women’s promenade, the bright mascaraed  eyes….
The swift excited whisper as a limousine draws near,
“Oh, look!  It’s Joan. It’s Joan. It’s Joan!” On every side I hear
The chatter, gossip,  envy, sighs, conjectures, wonder, praise,
As memory races quickly back to  early prairie days.
The little girl across the street… the funny child I  knew
Who dared to dream her splendid dreams…
and make her dreams come  true.