By DONALD DeMARCO
Character is the sum total of all the virtues a person has. A single virtue does not go very far. It is like an orphan severed from his parents and left to his own devices. People live in a community and so do virtues. Justice without mercy is cold legalism whereas mercy without justice is sentimentality. Determination without moderation can easily become fanatical whereas moderation without determination can border on the apathetic.
We have all been told, repeatedly, that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Benefactors should not be sourpusses. G.K. Chesterton pointed out that the old Christian virtues have gone mad “because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful.” We need a variety of virtues to hold each individual virtue in place so that none of them break apart and wander alone where that can do a great deal of damage.
Character, therefore, is more important than the isolated virtue, as the whole is greater than the part. I would like to illustrate the beauty of character in the following paragraphs with a single example that also reads as a good story. And we all love a good story.
Sadie Vimmerstedt, a grandmother who worked behind a cosmetic counter in Youngstown, Ohio, and not a songwriter, one day had the inspiration that a new song should be written under the title, “I Wanna Be Around to Pick Up the Pieces When Somebody Breaks Your Heart.” She may have also been inspired by Eccl.11 which reads, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. . . . As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in your womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”
No doubt she hoped for something better than soggy bread. It was 1957. She selected one of the legendary figures in the Great American Songbook, Johnny Mercer, to complete the lyrics. Not knowing his address, she mailed her suggestion to: “Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York, N.Y.” Due to the diligence of the U.S. Post Office, the letter reached its target.
Mercer was indeed a legendary songwriter and had furnished the words to such hits as Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, Charade, One for My Baby, Glow Worm, Blues in the Night, and On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe. For his efforts, he won four Oscars. Would this super-celebrity be gracious enough even to read Grandma Vimmerstedt’s letter?
Not only did he read it, a testimony to his humility and respect for strangers, he saw merit in the title. He went ahead and completed the song which went on to become a huge hit. Now, at this point, Johnny Mercer could have sent the widowed grandma a bouquet of flowers and a thank-you note. This would have pleased her greatly and repaid her far more than she could have had a right to expect. But Mercer had more virtues in his quiver. He went beyond what justice would have required and agreed to pay his officially acknowledged “co-songwriter” half of the royalties.
The song was sung by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Patti Page, Peggy Lee, James Brown, Buddy Greco, and Dinah Washington, among others. Michael Bublé recorded it as recently as 2016. In time, Sadie and her heirs received more than $100,000 in royalties. Her “bread” had turned to gold.
Mercer had added to justice a deep gratitude and a heartwarming generosity, all of which attested to a fine character. One More for the Road, Mercer’s own lyrics, can be applied to his concatenation of virtues. In fact, there is an interesting story to this song. Mercer allegedly penned the words on a napkin in a bar. The lyrics included the line, “So set ’em up, Joe.” Mercer later apologized to the bartender, whose name was not Joe. “It was easier to write lyrics that rhymed with Joe, than Tommy,” Mercer explained. An apology was not needed, but was given out of genuine respect.
Mercer graces one of a set of 32 cent U.S. commemorative postage stamps issued in 1996. The set pays tribute to American songwriters and includes Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Fields, and Harold Arlen. The U.S. Post Office does not honor people so much for their character as for their achievements. But we know that good character rises far above mere achievements.
This story is not intended to eulogize Johnny Mercer. God knows he was not a saint. Rather, it is intended to weave together a series of virtues in the telling of a true to life story that illustrates the beauty of character and the benefits that can flow from it. Abraham Lincoln, surely a person of outstanding character, once said: “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
We are often judged by the “shadow” while the “tree” remains ignored. But we ourselves are often more concerned about our reputation than our character. We often, as Shakespeare says, “seek the bubble reputation” while our character remains unattended. Yet, reputation can quickly evaporate while character discloses the substance of who we really are. Let us all aspire to be “the real thing.”
Good stories are built around good character. I hope the one told here is of some inspiration for its readers. A good song should be sung; a good story should be told (tolled), again and again.
(Dr. Donald DeMarco is professor emeritus of St. Jerome’s University and adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College. He is a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. His latest two books, How to Navigate Through Life and Apostles of the Culture of Life, are posted on amazon.com.)
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