This was a NIGHT TO REMEMBER……………….I was very privileged to be invited to a White House State Diner by President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan. It was two weeks before Christmas and the White House was MAGNIFICENT! I was also privileged to be seated at Mrs Reagan’s table, along with the quest of honor……The President of Colombia, [I think…it’s been a long time]. Mrs. Reagan was beautiful in her Emerald Green Galanos gown and CABOCHON EMERALDS at her neck………. I do remember I was sitting next to Heather Watts, the famous ballerina of the moment…..the owner of the NY Times, a famous football player, don’t remember his name either, Anne Getty, a famous and rich socialite, and others I can’t remember, were also seated at the table……..everyone was well known for one thing or another….10 in all……I do have the menu that everyone signed …somewhere. At the end of dinner, as coffee was being served, Heather Watts leaned into me and whispered to me that there were ashtrays on the table, but no one in the entire room [the room with Lincoln’s portrait over the fire place ], had smoked the whole evening. I told her I did have cigarettes with me and we would subtly light two up and see what happens. I pulled out my gold cigarette case….very chic indeed….and we lit up waiting to be hauled off by the guards………Instead…the quest of honor, who is the gray haired man standing in the center of the picture…..said in his thick accent….”thank God someone at this table smokes” to which everyone lit up and had a good laugh……..The entire room started to light up…………I think….no, I know Heather and I started something…..Mrs. Reagan smiled and told me I was a bad boy……………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Yes…..a night to remember.
What a great laugh, and a testimony to your impish self! I would love to see the signed menu… And your beads are gorgeous!
One more story……The same day as the dinner…..in the morning…….the invited guests were also invited to greet the guest of honor on the back White House lawns for his arrival…..it wasn’t mandatory, but it was expected. As I said, it was two weeks before Christmas so it was quite cold. We, after going through many check points, were gathered in a large round room with an entrance to the lawn, waiting inside where it was warm. The guest of honor was due to helicopter in. Word was given that the helicopter was on it’s way, so we were ushered outside to our designated area………just ahead of me was a very TALL woman dressed in a REAL LEOPARD coat with a hood. She had the hood up so I could see who it was…..but…………the hood had two LEOPARD EARS sticking straight UP……..It took all of my will power, and I guess the will power of others, not to have a laughing jag…or at least the giggles…..not very dignified, or the kind of behavior that was expected of the invited guests….When she finally turned around I recognized the woman………….it was….DORIS DUKE
Can you imagine the look on Nancy Reagan’s face, shaking her hand? Hilarious. I was also thinking about the NYT person at the table with you- was it Arthur “Punch” Ochs Sulzberger? He’s a relative, so my antenna always goes up when I hear “New York Times,” My sister, my father, my father’s father, and my father’s father’s father all worked for the times as editors, reporters, or in some other business capacity over the years. Arthur’s mother, Iphigene, paid my college and graduate school tuition and expenses. A lovely woman. I can’t help but be proud of the name, as you can see, so I am wondering if I am correct in assuming “Punch” is the NYT guy to whom you were referring. Must have been!
That is a great story and Nancy Reagan always knew how to dress!! My Mom had a gold cigarette case and I still have it; I use it to hold charge card receipts inside a desk! So you see, all things can be repurposed! 😉
What a nostalgic moment in time you have shared with us; certainly a time to treasure. The inscription on the photo is quite lovely as well. You are indeed the consummate gentleman.
What a wonderful story and fabulous picture! 🙂 And you, sir, have turned silver haired in the most distinguished way but kept the same handsome broad smile!
Thank you Nancy..
Oh Louis, that’s great! I am so glad you added that. Last month I went down to LA and visited the Reagan Library. It was a hot day and I wore your Lace jacket with trim detail in rasberry. I felt cool,comfortable and very stylish. We enjooyed looking at Nancy’s gowns displayed there.
Love your story and photo, Louis. I usually think of Mrs. Reagan dressed in red. Her green outfit was lovely. Your WH dinner story brings back so many memories. While never lucky enough to be invited to a state dinner, I did work on the 1980 campaign and later at the Justice Department in the Reagan Administration. Back then people smoked in their office. And streets in front of the White House and Justice Department were pedestrian friendly without the the intense concrete barriers to entry we find today. The world has changed since President Reagan’s shining city on a hill speech. But a similar signed photo of President Reagan in a tux toasting with champagne glass in hand hangs in my office as I write this. Thanks for sharing your night to remember story!
Dear Louis,
What a wonderful memory and riveting story. You are daring, aren’t you? I love your courage and gumption. Mrs. Reagan looks ravishingly beautiful and you look so handsome. Your emerald-like jewelry is going to be immensely popular, I bet. Will there be earrings to match the necklace? When I graduated from high school, my parents asked me what I wanted. What I chose was a ring with a very large emerald. This was quite a few decades ago, and I recall that the owner of the jewelry store told me that he himself had chosen the emerald on a visit to Colombia. All this sounded so exotic to me then. My ring will need this necklace.
Dear Goldie….I don’t have “matching” earrings per say. What I am coordinating with the necklaces is the gold swirl and the stone incased in gold…also the Demi hoops will look great, or for that matter any simple gold earring. Even the Byzantine earring look wonderful.
Thanks for sharing…great story!