Anyone that knows or has met my mother, Middi, knows she stood 4ft-8in and was bigger than life. She always had a mischievous twinkle in her eye, a big winning smile which was always a bit flirtatious and was up for anything you wanted to do. She had an avid sense of adventure and was ready to go at the drop of a hat.
Gary and I had business in London in the 1980's and asked her if she would like to come with us for fun. Of course, she would, and we stayed at what was then The Grosvenor House on Park Lane in prestigious Mayfair, London close to Hyde Park. Those were my days of posh and rubbing elbows with the elites. (Didn't learn a thing!)
Now, Mom was a country girl through and through, but she could hold her own with the fanciest people, places or things. Her sense of humor always took her a long way when she was in doubt.
On one particular night, we were dining at the very famous restaurant adjacent to the hotel called 94 Park Lane to which you needed to be a member in order to get in. When Mom sat down and saw endless silverware to the left and right of the plate, plus a few more at the top center of the plate with several glasses in various sizes, she got a little nervous. It was just the 3 of us, but when Mom got nervous, she would giggle and her humor would kick in to overdrive.
I think we were having a 26-course meal, and Mom ordered Steak Diane. Nothing too fancy and something she thought she could manage. But, they brought a few courses before the main course and we told her to just watch us, if she was unsure which utensil to use.
By the time they brought her meal, she had had a bit more wine than she was used to and really enjoying herself. All the tables in the room were round and in a low light, intimate setting. Her Steak Diane looked lovely with a bit of sauce. When she went to cut the meat, it slid off her plate, up in the air and landed in the plate of a nearby diner. Horrors! I thought she was going to burst into tears, but the people at that table were so nice to her and everyone had a big laugh. The gentleman at that table asked her, in jest, if he could eat it, or did she want it back?
The next evening, we were going back to the same restaurant, but in a private room. Our guests were General Oscar Carerra, Attaché, and Ambassador Carlos de Candamo from the Peruvian Embassy in London. During the day, Mom had heard Gary and I talking about Oscar and Carlos. When the time came to go to dinner, we reminded Mom not to use their first names, but to address them as General Carerra and Ambassador de Candamo. She said she understood.
We all gathered in our private dining room, Gary makes the introductions, and wouldn't you just know it, Mom marches right up to each of them and says, "Hi, Oscar, nice to meet you." And then to the Ambassador, "Hi, Carlos, I've heard so much about you." The two gentlemen didn't miss a beat, but each greeted her warmly and called her Mama. She was very proud of herself.
We all got settled at our table and everyone was talking, but Mom decided she wanted to see what was on this menu. The menus were very large and when she went to pick up hers, she knocked her glass of red wine across the table and splashed the General and Ambassador! She was horrified! But, the General jumped up and knocked over his glass of red wine as did the Ambassador, and the General said, "See, Mama, I spill my wine too." And the Ambassador put his arm around her and told her not to worry even a little bit, and that everything was OK. (I thought she might just put her arms around him and plant a big old kiss on him right there!).
Mom relaxed, the evening progressed and all ended well.
A few weeks later, General Carerra came to New York as our house guest for the weekend and to bring a very large order. When he arrived, he wanted to know where Mama was. We told him she lived across the Sound in Connecticut. He refused to sign the order until he saw Mama. What did we mean, she lived somewhere else? Why wasn't she living with us so we could care for her? So.... I called Mom and she dropped what she was doing and hopped on the next ferry to come to our house.
That evening, we broke out the guitars and sang for him, and didn't he just enjoy the music. I think she may have even sang, Out Behind the Barn!
Saved by Mom and her big personality. We got the order!