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The seating was assigned, and I was surprised that Terry and I were seated right behind Harriet Lake. This was prime real estate. Tom Yokum from Lowndes, Drosdick, Kantor & Reed was seated next to us with his wife. Terry grabbed my sketchbook and showed it to his wife. The auctioneer for the evening was a no show and Tom was asked to fill in. Harriet Lake had donated a bracelet studded with 173 diamonds. Tom knew many of the patrons in the room and he used this to his advantage to get people to bid. He shouted out, "Come on now, you spend more than that to fuel up your private jet." The bidding was fast and furious. Congressional contender Bill Segal raised his hand once but didn't bid aggressively. Melanie Love is the woman who got to show off this amazing jewelry for the rest of the night. She had been joking with us earlier in the evening about how they would build a tower out of Snickers bars every Halloween. The bars would have to be removed gingerly by the kids to keep the tower from collapsing.
A preview of the play "39 Steps" began shortly after the auction. I fired up my book light and kept working. Watercolors were applied in the darkness. 39 Steps was hilarious. It is a tongue in cheek view of a crime drama akin to Hichcock's "North by Northwest ." A scene in a crowded train had all the actors moving and swaying to the rythem of the train. Brandon Roberts was particularlY funny in a Chaplinesque way. A chase scene on top of the train was made complete as the actors ruffled their waistcoats with their hands. The scenes were overacted and melodramatic to great humorous effect.
After the preview, a trio performed in the lobby. I contemplated doing one more sketch but I knew time was limited. Betsy Die gave me the photo which had been taken of Terry and myself earlier in the evening. I felt like we were being given the VIP treatment. It is the little things that make an evening truly memorable.
