To My Benefactor,

I have tried on several occasions to compose a coherent written expression of my gratitude for making it possible for me, Carol, and my dear baby brother and his wife to spend an evening with Suede at the Stardust. There was an empty seat at the table in which I mentally pictured you. Although you were absent in body, you were in my thoughts throughout the evening, for without your incredible generosity, I would not have been present at that table on August 18th. So let me try to convey my gratitude by sharing the evening at the Stardust with you here in an open letter on the Community Forum so that other Diva Devotees can share in the joy of your amazing gift.

Frequent Flyer miles and relatives in Baltimore and Washington with spare bedrooms made it possible for the four of us to gather together that weekend in anticipation of the Dinner With Suede that you “gifted” to me. After spending the day being tourists on the Washington Mall and at the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum (it was my sister-in-law’s first trip to DC), the four of us hopped on the Metro for the trip to the Stardust. We were advised by Jennifer, manager at the Stardust, to take a cab from the Metro stop, so we rushed out to the front of the station to find a cab as the trip had taken longer than we had anticipated, and I was filled with angst that we were going to be unfashionably late. There were three cars in the taxi line, and of course, as “cabbie protocol” requires, we approached the first taxi in the line. The driver was reading the newspaper and did not notice us approach the car, so I leaned over to talk through the open passenger side window. As I spoke, the cabbie quickly crumpled the paper in her lap and thrust her fast-food supper off the front passenger seat into the floorboard in one sweeping motion as she startled to attention.

With his long legs straddling the remains of the cabbie’s Mickey D’s #7 Happy Meal, my brother got into the front seat and promptly asked the cabbie to take us to the Stardust. On the way, the cabbie casually asked where we were from to which my brother replied, “Half of us are from Georgia and the other half are from South Carolina.”

Obviously intrigued by my brother’s classic southern charm and genuine Georgian drawl, the cabbie then asked, “What brings all of you to Alexandria?” As he glanced over his shoulder toward the backseat to give me a quick wink, he simply said, with the straightest face and most deadpanned tone he could muster, “Dinner.” Totally incredulous of the truth of that statement, the cabbie replied, “Unh-uh, not really…..right?…..that’s NOT really why you are here,” to which my brother said, “Yes, R-E-A-L-L-Y ! We are here specifically for dinner at the Stardust!” After several more gasps of incredulity and disbelief, the absolutely flabbergasted cabbie laughed as she said, “Just wait ‘til I tell the others about this! No one will ever believe it!” (My immediate unspoken thought was: “Poor soul, she has obviously never been in the presence of the Diva!”)

Meanwhile, back at the Stardust, Jennifer had graciously inscribed the sidewalk in front of the Stardust in colored chalk with: “Here’s to life, Here’s to love, Here’s to you, and....Here’s to paying it forward” at my request as a greeting to Suede, who had actually already arrived. As she waited for all of us to disembark from the vehicle, the cabbie read it aloud and asked what it meant as we headed into the Stardust. The classic comeback phrase, “If you have to ask...” ran through my head, but being the genteel lady that my mother raised me to be, I simply shrugged my shoulders, waved good-bye, and slipped through the doorway, smiling at the thought of the cabbie regaling her buddies with the story about those crazy people from the South.

We were welcomed with open arms as we entered the Blue Velvet room to find Suede, Avery (gracious owner of the Stardust who donated the dinner to the LGCW auction) and Jill (from the LGCW) along with other friends. After introductions and hugs all around, we perused the drink menu for our evening libations. Admiring the pink-tinged drink in the wavy-stemmed martini glass already on the table, we discovered the name of that particular drink listed on the menu was a “Suedewave”,....so guess what we ordered! Chef Pat had prepared a spectacular menu with special accommodations for all of our dietary idiosyncrasies, and the wait staff was attentive and efficient.

Conversation flowed so easily that one would have thought we were just having a festive family reunion and were simply catching up on each other’s lives since the last reunion! My brother's re-enactment of the adventure with the dismayed cabbie filled the room with raucous laughter. In addition to stories of performing behind chicken wire in the very early days of her career, Suede even shared the trick to faking the words to a song if you forget the words when you are singing in a large group: The key words to remember are “J-u-i-c-y W-a-t-e-r-m-e-l-o-n”...just keep mouthing those two words so your lips keep moving and it will appear that you're really singing! As a non-singer (not even alone in the shower), I immediately tucked that little pearl of wisdom in a safe place in my frontal lobe for future use should the occasion ever arise. As Emily Dickinson would say, “Now those are words to lift your hat to!”

Having deferred to Suede & Avery for the selection of wine for the evening, I waited until everyone had wine in their glasses. I made a toast in a deeply heartfelt attempt to honor and thank everyone who had played a role in making this particular evening in my life possible. I prefaced the words that were to follow with this disclaimer: “Those of you who know me are aware of my propensity to cry during emotional occasions, but please be advised that any tears shed by me tonight are tears of pure joy and celebration.” To those who were there at the Stardust that night, these are the words I had written for this once-in-a-lifetime moment of nirvana that my heart made difficult in their proper and exact elocution:

“I would like to make a toast of heartfelt gratitude and sincere thanks to (INSERT BENEFACTOR’S NAME HERE) for her unparalleled generosity as well as Suede, Avery and everyone here at the Stardust for making this evening possible for all of us…..”

“To my baby brother and my sister-in-law for changing their lives and making personal sacrifices on a daily basis to give my sister Sharon the loving care she so desperately needed during her last years of life here with us…..”

“To Suede, whose amazing talent and incredible voice came into my life during a season of profound loss for reasons that continue to be revealed to me; and whose inner beauty and magnificent generosity of heart & spirit have touched my life in the bond of friendship and truly changed it forever…….”

“And to Carol, who has always supported me and my entire family whether they were aware of it or not; who came into my life during a time of physical pain and not only healed my body, but also put a string of lights around my heart; …..and whom I will love forever and a day.” (It was here that Carol frowned ever so slightly and quietly said, “But…, that’s not long enough!”)

“So to borrow a phrase from the Diva:

Here's to life

Here's to love

Here’s to all of you for paying it forward for me.”


Now, my dear benefactor, there is just one more thing I want everyone out there to know.....yes, I am afraid that you’re just going to have to let it be known to all of those Diva Devotees out there:

YOU ARE LIVING PROOF THAT THERE ARE ANGELS AMONG US!


And I am truly honored to know you.

Mint Julep

yep.....another grand night, indeed. mint julep, you honor me with such kind words....thanks for being here and such a loyal fan...I look forward to the next time our paths cross. until then, be well. and yes, your benefactor is an angel, indeed.