Eyes that see the good in things- Feb. 25, 2019

I saw a video on Facebook yesterday that made me go in search of this story, just to see if the story was real. The story is a wonderful example about making a difference to just one person.

You’re probably aware of the actor Zach Galifianakis, who was in the movie “The Hangover,” back in 2009. “The Hangover” was a comedy and the first of three movies in what it called the “The Hangover Trilogy. It tells the story of Phil Wenneck, Stu Price, Alan Garner and Doug Billings, who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate Doug’s impending marriage. However, they wake up with the groom missing, no memory of the previous night’s events, and they have to find the groom before the wedding can take place.

The film became the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2009. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The movie became the second-highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States, surpassing a record previously held by Beverly Hills Cop for almost 25 years and is still in the top ten highest grossing films in the United States.

Two sequels never received the same critical reception as their predecessor. In full disclosure, I’ve never seen any of them, but I might watch one, just because of this story. I must confess that when this column was edited, I was told that the movies are intense in R-rated humor. The editor thought I might even blush so, I may or may not watch it. In any case, there is more to this story and I needed to do a little searching to find the rest of it.

The Facebook video told the story about an 87-year-old woman (who is now in her 90s), Mimi Haist, who used to volunteer in a laundromat in Los Angeles. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mimi spent most of her life as a suburban housewife and mother of two. Everything changed, however, when she divorced her unfaithful husband.

Unfortunately, she lost her house in the divorce and began living in her van at the age of 50. When she ran out of money, the van was towed away and Mimi migrated to Santa Monica, where she lived on the streets for years.

One cold and rainy night, a sympathetic janitor got permission from his boss to let Mimi spend the night inside his laundromat. According to the Facebook video, she was so friendly and helpful to the laundromat patrons that the owner of the laundromat gave her a key to the laundromat. For the next two decades she slept on a plastic lawn chair between washing machines at night, and earned tips folding clothes during the day. But the story doesn’t stop there.

Galifianakis was one of those patrons of the L.A. laundromat where Mimi worked. He met and befriended her in 1994 when he was still a struggling comic. When he was in town, he would come into the laundromat frequently, as he enjoyed Mimi’s company. With the success of “The Hangover,” Galifianakis’ life changed drastically and he lost touch with Mimi.

However, when he found out that she was homeless again, he found her a one-bedroom apartment and quietly paid her rent and utilities. He also introduced her to Renee Zellweger, who furnished her apartment and buys her groceries. “I really love it,” Mimi said in an article in “People Magazine.” “I have a place where I can sleep and arrange things, and it’s really heaven,”

Galifianakis took Mimi to the last two Hangover movie premieres, sending her to have her hair and make-up done prior to the premiers. He also took her to the premiere for his movie, “The Campaign.”

Mimi laughingly says she is often mistaken for his “girlfriend.” The Men’s Center of Los Angeles, which exists to bring good men together and bring out the best in them, says on their website, “Zach might be funny, but he also legitimately lives his life without the typical Hollywood drama & hype we’ve seen from other stars. This guy respects his elders. He’s a good man. Bravo Zach. Thanks for a being a good example for good men everywhere.” But the story doesn’t stop there, either.

During the time that Mimi was working in the laundromat, she also came to know Yaniv Rokah. Rokah was an aspiring actor who was working as a barista at a coffee shop when he first met Mimi. Friends at the laundromat and in the area knew her as the “Queen of Montana,” because Montana was the street address of the laundromat where she had lived for over 20 years.

Rokah is quoted in the article in “People,” “I remember thinking, ‘Who is this older woman who’s working at a laundromat seven days a week? And why does she seem so happy all the time? Here I am struggling to make it in Hollywood, working at a coffee shop, and across the street there’s this ball of fire, like a pink-wearing, singing, dancing diva who turns out to be homeless.”

Just as she had earlier become friends with Galifianakis, Mimi and Rokah also became friends. Rokah started recording her on his iPhone 4 for a project that he said would consume the next four years of his life. According to Rokah, Mimi has a very outgoing personality which allows her to make friends easily, but she guarded the details of her own life. Over the years, as they worked together, her trust in Rokah grew and she started sharing the details of her life.

Eventually, Rokah realized he was not the only aspiring actor to befriend the “Queen of Montana,” when he learned of Mimi’s relationships with Galifianakis and Zellweger. “It never seemed like a big deal to her, so it didn’t seem like a big deal to me,” the director said of Mimi’s celebrity friends.

Rokah approached Galifianakis, who was initially reluctant to participate in the documentary, fearing his friendship with Mimi could be misconstrued as a publicity stunt. Eventually, at Mimi’s behest, the comedian agreed to be interviewed, saying, “It is my honor to know that woman.”

“Queen Mimi,” the documentary about Mimi’s life opened in 2016 in Santa Monica – the same city where Marie “Mimi” Haist, now in her 90s, has lived for the past four decades. Mimi kept going to the laundromat every day to keep busy and people have even started coming to the laundromat to ask for autographs.

The “People” article closes with this quotation, “And while Mimi says she has enjoyed the added attention, nothing excites her more than the opportunity to inspire other people down on their luck. ‘I always say yesterday’s gone, tomorrow isn’t here, you live now,’ she says. ‘You can only live each day as it comes.’”

It’s one of those stories that just keeps growing. One person doing just one thing grows as more people also do just one thing. Together, they each are able to make a real difference in the life of just one person.

We would love to share local stories about the good things your eyes are seeing.

Stop in to share your stories with us, give us a call at 947-2417 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Or send a letter to Eyes That See the Good in Things, c/o Allison Lindgren, The Transcript 6 8th St N., New Rockford, ND 58356.