And ladies of the club...

Yesterday I, ahem, addressed the Garret Club. It is on Cleveland Avenue next to Nardin Academy where my mother went to school. That is the Garret Club up above. Note to out-of-towners: In Buffalo this is where people go to socialize.

The Garret Club was founded in 1902 and got its name because at first the ladies of the club furnished it with things that came out of their attics. That is a beautiful picture of the Garret Club up above! And it looked even prettier yesterday with all the bright sunshine.

I got to talk to the Garret Club about people I have interviewed. That is a topic I love. Names I dropped included, but were not limited to: Andre Watts, Van Cliburn, James Galway, Julius Rudel, Andrea Bocelli (that one brought the house down), Debbie Reynolds, the great Donald O'Connor, the great pianist Earl Wild who just died a few weeks ago, and the great, great Leonard Pennario.

There were not many questions afterward pertaining to Leonard Pennario. That disappointed me.

Ask me something about Pennario, someone!

But I could not get over the attention people paid to me. It got embarrassing because I am not used to answering questions about myself. Also I started worrying about how much talking I was doing. Once I get talking I cannot stop and that can be a problem sometimes.

Later someone told me it was hard to believe my background was German, that she would have thought I was Italian. I think that is because I talk with my hands. It is funny how some nationalities think they have a lock on stuff like that.

After my talk the ladies of the Garret Club invited me to lunch. We had cream of mushroom soup that was delicious and well worth the millions of calories I am sure it had. Followed by a big salad buffet with wonderful greens and Oriental chicken and I forget what else. Followed by heart-shaped St. Valentine's Day cookies with pink frosting. It is wonderful dining at a women's club because you get just the kind of lunch that women like to eat. The lunch was served by waitresses in white aprons and caps. I loved that.

Here is a picture of the Garret Club in summer.

Speaking of which here is something I have been thinking about. The dining room's huge windows had the most magnificent view, of the expanse of yard behind the club, and the bright sun shining in. It felt like July. And one of the women said, you should see the club in summer. The ladies go outside in the yard and they play croquet.

Imagine that, playing croquet at the Garret Club!

It makes it tough to go back to my normal life!