The Key West Citizen

THE KEY WEST CITIZEN

Two Minds That Beat As One

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? Lucille Roberts tells husband Eddie where he's been and what he's thinking.

WHEN Eddie Roberts is late for a luncheon date with his wife, he doesn't go into the usual excuses about being delayed by an important deal at the office. He just smiles, and says, "I'm sorry. Toots."

Lucille Roberts looks at him intently for a moment, and then says: "Why, that's okay. I know you met an old pal named Cadwallader Gilhooley at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue and that you stopped in the Sherry Netherland bar for a quick one, but instead you had two Scotch old-fashioneds and he had two very dry martinis with a twist of lemon peel instead of an olive. That's all right, Eddie. I don't mind a bit, just so long as you don't try to deceive me."

When you're married to a mind-reader, you might as well tell the truth at the start, and get the whole thing settled. Sometimes it makes things tough, but it does keep the air clear.

The Roberts couple claim their marriage is based on complete candor. Eddie never has told a lie to Lucille. He knows better than to try. And on the other hand Lucille never has deceived Eddie, either--at least, not successfully--for he is a mind-reader, too.

The two of them amaze dinner and supper guests nightly at the Pierre Hotel and other swank spots around New York by telling the customers their names, home towns, the color of their Aunt Maggie's Sunday dress, and any other bits of odd information the guests may request.

Eddie and Lucille have a mystic belief in Lady Luck, which has taken them around the world and treated them to many strange adventures. She was on hand when Lucille stepped off a bus from her home town in Virginia a few years ago, and stepped into a Times Square travel office to ask directions. The young man in the travel agency was Eddie, who was bored with selling other people's tickets to romantic places, and wanted to see the world himself.

It was love at first sight, say Lucille and Eddie. They were married before you could say "Give me a ticket to Singapore" and for a honeymoon started off on a round-the-world trek.

Eddie, an amateur photographer, thought he would make expenses, with his pictures, and he took Lucille to India to photograph the Taj Mahal and other points of interest. While in India, the Roberts couple got acquainted with those Hindu mystics, the fakirs, and learned their magic tricks.

They traveled from Java to Sumatra, to Bali, Batavia, Surabaya, Japan, entertaining groups at private parties with mind-reading and magic tricks.

They were in Singapore when the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor, started home aboard a ship which struck a floating mine and sank. Lucille and Eddie were saved, and finally got back home, where Eddie served as a corporal in the Army and Lucille traveled with USO-Camp Shows.

Now they're back in peacetime harness, reading minds and bewildering audiences. And though nobody in the Roberts family has any secrets, they manage to stay happy--and married.