Blogs are often personal stories as this one shall be. But now I am having second thoughts about how much I should really share with you and how much I should edit in order not to shock, or offend those of you who will be reading it … especially now that so many of you do.
Okay, now that I have thought about it for thirty seconds…why not share it all? So here we go. A great evening of fun and conversation with three new friends (we met on the golf course and are now a regular foursome). We were having dinner at the fabulous Centro restaurant, surrounded by those most special of men, Italians. But that is for another blog.
The girls had all just read my first book ‘Tempting Fate – A Cautionary Tale of Power and Politics’ about The Starr Affair – a major political scandal that helped to bring down the Peterson government in the early 90’s. The now dead Attorney General, Ian Scott (once upon a time, a friend of mine) called an Inquiry which was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. Since then I have written two successful novels, both published internationally and have just finished my third novel which is scheduled for release in March – but I digress.
During our appetizers of shrimp and rapini the girls told me that they had a lot of questions after reading the book but were hesitant about asking –they hadn’t lived through it all with me as my other friends had and they didn’t want to seem to be too nosy. So I gave them the go-ahead to ask anything they wanted and the conversation took off – and if you are reading this, hang on.
They are consummate ladies – Rosedale Golf Club is not a forbidden venue to them as it had once been for my people. I decided to tell them about my one and only visit to Rosedale more than twenty years ago. As the Chair of Ontario Place, I was often invited to places where I wouldn’t have been allowed to join. On that Saturday evening, I was enjoying dinner as the guest of four Ontario Place boaters. White tablecloths, silver, crystal, wine (Merlot) and very polite staff.
Hmm, I thought to myself. Here I am having dinner at Rosedale Golf Club. Ha ha. I wonder what my former classmates at Associated Hebrew School would say if they knew I was here. I think I’ll phone a couple of them tomorrow and share all the details.
And then disaster! I don’t know what I did but suddenly, my wine glass was over on its side…and red wine was spreading on the white tablecloth, right in front of me! I wanted to slink down under the table and just cry. But then…like a scene out of a movie, staff suddenly appeared, the table cloth was removed and replaced, crystal, silver and a fresh glass of wine appeared – and it all happened within five minutes. No faces were made, no snickers from staff, and my hosts? Not a flicker or a twitch in their conversation or even a hesitation. No change in their faces as they continued chatting as if nothing had happened. They didn’t even glance at the expanding red table cloth. I knew then what the term “CLASS ACT” was all about especially in the WASP world.
When the girls asked why I had been so upset– after all, these kinds of accidents happen all the time – my answer even surprised me. Obviously I was still carrying the defensiveness of being Jewish in a non-Jewish environment – probably a carry-over from earlier years when I was a kid fighting my way to school. Since Rosedale had no Jewish members – and I was feeling edgy because I was high profile – I had wanted to be a particularly elegant and charming dinner guest. And then, to have caused such a mess, well….I just felt like such a jerk. I still squirm when I remember it.
But then the girls each took a turn telling me about their own individual faux pas in even more elegant surroundings. How thoughtful of them and it was oh so appreciated. That is what good friends are all about.
As we started on our second bottle of wine, our conversation moved to new topics and entered a question and answer mode. Men, Books, Sex and the Vanier Centre for Women – not necessarily in that order. For those of you who might not know about Vanier, it is a prison. And over twenty years ago I was inside for six weeks.
Go to Part 2
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