Designer

…………………..It’s that wonderful time of year again when the……LILY OF THE VALLEY…….. are in bloom. Every spring I look to see how much they have spread, and they are doing wonderfully……They are the “MAY FLOWER” so Jac was especially fond of them. Her mother loved them too and always had bottles of Lily of the Valley perfume……….I plucked some, and mixed them with some lilac blooms. I have them on my kitchen window sill so I can always smell their intoxicating fragrance.

……………………….About a week before the evening at the White House I received a large packet…..In the packet I received was a page with a list of customs and protocols we were to follow…..Everything was orchestrated, and one felt obliged to follow the instructions. The invitations, passes and everything else I would need was in the packet…..It was extremely organized!

………………….Days before the event I received a large packet in the mail with all of the information in it that I would need. The invitation to dinner and the card showing my table number was included.

………………………I had the great honor of sitting at Nancy Reagan’s table along with the President of Ecuador, who sat beside her. I remember the head of the NY Times was at the table as well as Nancy’s very wealthy girlfriend Anne Getty. Sitting at my left was the prima ballerina, Heather Watts who danced for the New York City Ballet Company. There were about 20 tables of 10 people in the Lincoln Room….I think that is what the room is called. There is a huge portrait of Lincoln above the fireplace…….Someone had the idea of passing our menus around so everyone could sign it. Unfortunately, not everyone signed mine. As coffee was being served Heather leaned over to me and whispered “I’m desperate for a cigarette”. I noticed there were ashtrays on the table so I said I thought it would be OK to smoke, because why else would ashtrays be there. Remember in 1986 there were no limitations to where you could smoke. She said she didn’t have any, but I did! So sheepishly I gave her a cigarette and I lit hers and mine at the same time….waiting to see what reaction we would get!…..The President of Ecuador said in a booming voice “Thank God people smoke here and proceeded to light up a cigarette! Then others started to smoke too….Not Nancy…..Actually, I was surprised a ballerina smoked!

…………………After Dinner we moved to the main hall where Jessye Norman preformed……..I had never seen her in real life, and she was FANTASTIC. Afterwards there was dancing. The Reagans started the first dance, but soon left to go to their private quarters. Eventually the crowd thinned out as people were leaving…..I went back to the hotel where Jac was waiting. I told her every detail of the evening…..She wanted to know what Mrs, Reagan was wearing….I explained she was in a long forest green silk cloque gown that skimmed her slender body….It had a jewel neckline, and at the bottom was a shirred tier about two feet wide. She wore emerald and diamond earrings, and around her neck was a torsade of cabochon emeralds….It was magnificent!! I told her every room we entered was still decorated for Christmas.  They were serving cocktails in two or three of the rooms so it gave the guests a chance to look at all of the beautiful rooms and decorations…. When it started to snow outside and you could see it through the windows from each room it was absolutely like a fairytale……It was a wonderful evening……An evening I will never forget. I am so glad I kept these momentos to remember the evening by!