This time of year lunches and cocktail parties are keeping the valet parkers and kitchens moving at high speed. Here are just three that took place on September 18.
Meals For The Minds
Some things just aren’t fair. Take for instance the annual Meal for the Minds luncheon benefiting Metrocare at Belo Mansion. Along the walls of the dining room are tables and tables with the most delicious looking cakes this side of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Bakers throughout the area had put their ingredients, ovens and pastry talents in overdrive to provide a scrumptious edible auction.
Who wanted to eat their salad and entrée when such desserts were just a foot or so away? But this crowd is as responsible as adults could be, whether it comes to eating a healthy meal or championing the cause for mental illness and developmental disability within Dallas
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins had just arrived from a meeting with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and the Dallas City Council to discuss the very issue of mental illness in Dallas. In addition to being a major health problem, it’s also a financial burden that is straining budgets.
But for many within the filled-to-capacity room, this topic was a personal one. They had first-hand knowledge of the emotional, physical and financial damage and long-term effects. One of those people was the featured speaker/author Pete Earley.
If you haven’t heard of Pete, he’s a former Washington Post reporter who evolved into a “full-time author with a commitment to expose the stories that entertain and surprise.” One of those books was “Crazy,” for which he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. While he had written about other non-fiction topics including the criminal justice system, he and his son Mike took on a tortuous and complex journey in dealing with Mike’s own mental health. “Crazy” dealt with two stories. The first belongs to Mike and the second is Pete’s discovery of how mental health is handled. While Pete was familiar with the red tape of bureaucracy, he was so taken back by the situation for “countless thousands who suffer confinement instead of cure, brutal conditions instead of treatment, in the ‘revolving doors’ between hospitals and jail.” Unfortunately, due to misunderstanding and/or lack of diagnosis, the mentally ill end up in jail instead of treatment centers.
As Charlene Howell summarized Pete’s talk, it was
“a chilling story of his efforts to get help for his 19-year-old son who became manic depressive. Authorities told him that until his son threatened someone or actually hurt someone or himself, then they could not do anything. With all his knowledge and connections as a former Washington Post reporter, he was helpless in the crisis until his son actually did commit a crime by breaking into an empty house in their neighborhood and taking a bubble bath.”
Unfortunately, Pete and Mike are not unique. Despite advancements in treating mental health issues, the number of those suffering due to lack of treatment and/or ignorance seems to be growing in overwhelming numbers. That is why for 45 years Metrocare’s services dealing with “developmental delays, depression, bipolar, autism, Asperger’s and many other conditions” have been a vital part of the solution.
Distinguished Women Announcement Party
It made sense that Wednesday’s announcement of Northwood University’s 2013 class of Distinguished Women took place at Dee Lincoln’s Dining Room & Bubble Bar. Dee, after all, was named a Distinguished Woman herself in 2008. But not only did Lincoln host the party; she also announced the name of one of this year’s eight new DWs: Mayor Mary Roche, of Indian Wells, Calif.
While Roche was among five 2013 DWs unable to attend the Sept. 18 gathering in person, three from North Texas did show up. They were: artist/philanthropist Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk, who was announced by former DW Yvonne Crum (class of 2001); businesswoman Patricia Chambers, announced by Leslie Crozier (DW class of ’06 and 2013 DW Committee Chair); and attorney and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, who was also announced, and nominated, by Crozier.
Rounding out the DW class of 2013: U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth (announced by Donna Arp Weitzman, DW class of ’03); foundation executive Margaret Peale Everett of Sherman, Conn. (announced by Lee Bailey, DW ’05); businesswoman Linda Orlans of Troy, Mich. (announced by D’Andra Simmons, DW ’11); and nonprofit executive Lorraine Schultz of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (announced by Barbara Daseke, DW ’06).
Other highlights of the event were brief remarks by Dr. Kevin Fegan, president of Northwood University Texas (Northwood CEO Dr. Keith Pretty was away in China), and a “surprise announcement” by Donna Arp Weitzman. She told the crowd that Northwood’s Mary Frazier had phoned her to ask whether she and husband Herb Weitzman would give more money to the school for an endowed scholarship. “I caught Herb in an unsuspecting moment, and he said yes,” Donna joked. Then she added: “You can all do that. Just talk to Mary and Kevin. It makes you feel so darned good.”
All eight new DWs are expected to attend the 2013 black-tie Gala, which is scheduled for Oct. 26 at the Hilton Anatole Dallas.
Flora Award Patron Party
The word on the boulevard is that “hors d’oeuvres” at Dee Wyly’s estate translates into a mega meal, so don’t make plans for dinner. That’s because Dee is the hostess perfectionist and wants everyone to feast. Luckily, she has Chef Darren McGrady in-house for such occasions.
Want an example? How about the Flora Award patron party honoring Jan Pickens? There was a sumptuous buffet (smoked trout bruschetta, smoked salmon with creme cheese, asparagus with prosciutto and mozzarella, Scotch eggs, shrimp cocktail, espresso chili crusted pork, etc.) in the dining room. It was just perfect complete with magnificent floral arrangement.
On the other hand, when Dee checked the dessert table in the living room, she spotted something that didn’t seem quite right. A couple of the desserts were contained in small glass cylinders. . . think tall shot glasses. Looking around, she asked, “How are we supposed to eat this?” Quickly, a young staffer was dispatched to the kitchen and returned with teaspoons. Dee raised an all-knowing eyebrow and pointed out that the spoon was too big for the opening of the glass. Immediately, Darren and maître d Frank were on the scene with coffee spoons that fit just right!
But nary a guest would have guessed, as some settled in the atrium for dinner and others joined Dee in the study, where someone noted a charming leather wastebasket. Turns out its previous owner was King Edward III. Dee had purchased at an auction of the Duke’s property — “It was the only thing I could afford.”
* Photo provided by Northwood University