Strangest quirk - Mim memory

 

Any one who knew Mim well was aware that she took pride in being thought quirky.  She definitely was.  And the one that deserved to be written in all CAPS, bold type & underscored was her quirk of intentionally, even elaborately, setting up situations where she would feel out of place.  Strange, very strange.

Going to the uber sumptuous brunch at Wilmington's Hotel Du Pont has been a Lockhart tradition since after our first taste of the glorious hostelry back in 1969.  It is a glorious experience, especially back in the days when the entire brunch was served as a buffet.  Every bite, every moment was memorable.

When I graduated from college, Mim & Mom took me there for breakfast.  Which was itself rather quirky, since graduation started at 10:30 & the Du Pont is hardly around the corner. To keep the destination a secret, Mim had blindfolded me.  She got seriously bent out of shape (almost turned around for home) when I guessed the Du Pont.  Had I been Mim, would have kept it to myself - realizing she wanted to floor me on arrival - but once we went over a bridge & I heard airplanes overhead, it was sort of obvious.  It was a mad dash, but to Mim, it was the Lockhart thing to do (personally, I would have been fine at with a peasant omelette at Mother's, in New Hope).

 
Mim LOVED setting up brunch celebrations at the Du Pont.  It was rare we missed a Christmas-time brunch in The Green Room (which isn't actually green), often including Margaret York (Gladish).  Remember the visit during a December when Margaret was especially stressed, her settling in at the table & proclaiming, "It's going to be a TWO Mimosa brunch!"  After her Dad passed, we tagged the annual event The James Thayer York - Raymond Lewis Lockhart Memorial Brunch!   

Whatever the season or reason, brunch at the Du Pont was an over-the-top experience.  Its clientele seemed every bit as elegantly first class as the setting & food.  And therein lies the rub.

One time, Mim & I were working our way down the long line of decadent desserts.  Mim paused, looked around the room & back at me, then said, "We stick out like a couple of sore thumbs."

Frankly, I was too stunned to say anything.  For which I seriously kicked myself as we walked back to the table.  I was in my late 20s & should have had the presence of mind to say something, but was too stunned to reply. I knew that some sort of response needed to be made at the time, right after her comment, or it would lack oomph.  I didn't say anything, but vowed to myself  that if a similar situation ever happened again, I would speak up.

And it did - again during a moment that Mim had organized.

The four of us - again Mim, Mom, Margaret et moi - were at The Rose Room at Manhattan's Algonquin Hotel, another favorite Lockhart spot.  

The Rose Room is literally legendary, the place where "the vicious circle" of  Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, George Kaufman, Alexander Woollcott, Harold Ross & others - aka the Algonquin Round Table - met to unsheath the daggers of their commentary & quips, skewering with legendary style the manners & mores, events & people of the day.  

The Algonquin Round Table
Dorothy Parker, Robert Sherwood, George S. Kaufman, Edna Ferber,

 Franklin P. Adams, Marc Connelly, Heywood Broun, 

Alexander Woollcott, Robert Benchley, 

Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt, 

Frank Crowninshield, 

&  host, Frank Case

Lunching in the Rose Room was a special thrill for me, a longtime admirer of Charles MacArthur, who was another, albeit infrequent, member of that infamous cabal.  

 

Every last nibble of the Rose Room's luncheon was served buffet-style ~ the most elegant buffet imaginable!  Mim & I went to heap our plates, leaving Mom & Margaret, who'd already served themselves (while we took first watch, guarding purses & shopping bags), back at the table.

As we slowly worked our way past the indescribable spread, laden with beyond yum choices, Mim paused, looked around the room, looked at me & said, "Well, we sure look like a couple of hicks."

Praise be for thinking ahead of time, "If a similar situation happens..."  Without any conscious thought, I look straight back at her & responded, "Speak for yourself."

It wasn't the last time Mim suggested & set up incredible dining adventures, but it as the last time she ever said anything so harshly deprecating in my presence.  

To this day, this strange quirk of Mim's leaves me head scratching. Do YOU get it?  I sure don't.