Below is the story, as told to me by my mother. It is one of my favorites.
It was January of 1961. Your father and I had been dating for almost five years. I was at Michigan State. He was at Princeton – although in 1961, he was spending a year at Georgetown.
Gery invited me to DC for the Kennedy Inaugural, which also coincided with my twentieth birthday. Of course I accepted. On the way to the Lansing airport, my parents made an unexpected stop at Giffels furrier. My mom said I could not attend the Ball in my “seen better days” Chesterfield coat worn over my senior prom dress. My parents bought me a silver fox shrug. To this day I remember the steep price – $175.
When I arrived in Washington, it was snowing – record snow and cold. Your father picked me up at the airport. Driving to your grandparents’ house, we encountered abandoned cars.
The Inaugural was emotional and so well planned. Robert Frost, then 88, delivered one of his poems, my greatest thrill. Your Aunt Wendy was with us.
The Ball we attended was at the Shoreham Hotel. When we arrived, your father took my new $175 shrug to give to the coat check room, to be hung with minks, ermines, etc. When the lady reached out to take my wrap from your father, my loving unpretentious Gery asked her if they were insured.
I stood to the side, taking everything in, while your father greeted someone. A young man with a very big camera came over to me and asked to take my picture. I called for your dad and introduced him. I remember him saying to your dad, “if I were you, I wouldn’t leave her alone.”
The rest of the evening was a blur of excitement. We spent the night at your grandparents’ home in Georgetown.
The next morning, your grandfather walked to work at the State Department. Midway through his walk, the Presidential limo pulled over (the Kennedys at that point were still living in their Georgetown home) and President Kennedy called for your grandfather to get in. On the way to work, President Kennedy said, “Soapy, I saw your son and his girlfriend in the paper this morning.”
That evening, your grandfather came home and asked your grandmother if she still had the paper. He told us what President Kennedy had said and your grandmother didn’t believe it. The paper was found and the picture of your father and me was on the front page, one of three. The other pictures were of President and Mrs. Kennedy, and LBJ and Conrad Hilton.
The entire event was magical and celebratory and joyful.
I pray this celebration will be peaceful.
