The Dreamers of Dreams

I really know next to nothing about the man Gene Wilder who died today at the age of 83.

We are the music makers… and we are the dreamers of dreams.

~ Willy Wonka

But I do know that he left an indelible glowing and warm memory in my childhood: that of Willy Wonka from the 1971 classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

“I can’t go on forever, and I don’t really want to try. So who can I trust to run the factory when I leave and take care of the Oompa Loompas for me? Not a grown up. A grown up would want to do everything his own way, not mine. So that’s why I decided a long time ago that I had to find a child. A very honest, loving child, to whom I could tell all my most precious candy making secrets.”

~ Willy Wonka

And so, for his artistry and in morning of another childhood light that is crossed by shadow, I was sorry to hear of his death. But I hope that the images and sounds of his whimsical, (if sometimes deliciously dark) portrayal of the candy man lights a candle of pure imagination for generations to come.

“Where is fancy bred, in the heart or in the head?”

~ Willy Wonka

Thanks for the memories Mr. Wilder.

“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”

~ Willy Wonka