This past semester, one of my most interesting courses in Learning in Retirement, organized by Nancy Denig, was called “You Are There,” in which the seminar participants talked about famous people they had met or with whom they had interacted.

Dottie Rosenthal recalled attending Marian Anderson’s concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 – the Daughters of the American Revolution had denied her access to Washington DC’s Constitution Hall, so her concert was moved to the alternate and much better site. Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR because of this. Dottie was five at the time and was perched on her uncle’s shoulders in the immense crowd to see Anderson. Dottie also met Eleanor Roosevelt.

“I met (her) when she came to speak at the University of Rochester when I was a junior in 1954. The dean of women wanted Mrs. Roosevelt to have an opportunity to meet with a few women students. I was one of the lucky ones, as I had been involved with the students’ association. We met with her in a small room with windows on three sides and a lovely view of the campus. But we were all so overwhelmed to meet such a famous woman, we did not know what to say. After a brief, awkward silence, Mrs. Roosevelt began talking. Then we had a very good conversation. I realized that she had understood the reason for our silence and graciously broke the ice. I was impressed with her lack of ego and her thoughtfulness of us.”

Jeanne Ballantine and her husband Hardy (both former college professors) participated several times in the “Semester at Sea” program, and on one of them had the chance to spend extended time with South African clergyman and Nobel Prize recipient Desmond Tutu. Jeanne also met the Dalai Lama. Bonnie Strickland (retired University of Massachusetts faculty) met the Dalai Lama, too, as well as Martin Luther King Jr., and Ted Kennedy.

Diane Liebert’s contacts include actresses Natalie Wood and Mitzi Gaynor, singer Ella Fitzgerald and the late Marion Barry, the somewhat controversial mayor of Washington DC in the 1990s. Nancy Denig was acquainted with major musicians Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges.

Barbara Hyams was friends with British-American poet Denise Levertov, while Rob Wilson spent time with Daniel Ellsberg during the latter’s visit to Amherst and Smith Colleges in 2003. Rob complimented Ellsberg as “a fantastic speaker who totally engaged his audiences.”

My list of famous encounters includes my classmate Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, Louis Armstrong, Robert Frost and Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s daughter Carmencita. My husband Jim and I also saw Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne at the Royal Highland Gathering at Braemar, Scotland in 1964.

None of us, however, could match Mary Saudek Jaffee’s list: Leonard Bernstein, Paul Robeson, Alistair Cooke, Leopold Stokowski and Yo-Yo Ma. Oh, and First Lady Michelle Obama. “Explain that one, Mary,” I begged, and it was a wonderful story.

“I was executive director of a small music training program for talented and motivated Black and Latino children, Project STEP. Its purpose was (and is) to provide Kindergarten through 12th graders the tools, equipment and experiences that prepare them to be competitive in classical music. It is highly selective and demanding. We applied for the ‘President’s Award,’ aka the National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities youth program awards. In 2014, we won! So, one of our students and I went to the White House to receive the award from First Lady Michelle Obama. We were one of 10 programs nationwide that won it.

We all went to Washington three months in advance to be prepped on the occasion, where it would be, how to greet the First Lady (never call her Michelle – always the First Lady), exactly what would happen during the ceremony, and the after reception. All kinds of additional details on protocol, security and connected celebrations.

The First Lady was warm (and) welcoming when we went up to the stage in the East Room. I had Ajani, the 11-year-old student, go in front of me. After greeting Ajani, she turned to me and said, ‘Come here! You’re a winner, too!’ And gave me her signature hug. She said, ‘I’ll see you in front of the food – don’t miss it.’ Then we walked off the stage.

We saw her later and chatted briefly about the program. I also saw Bo, the Obamas’ dog, being walked (actually, run) past the ladies’ room parlor, and out the door.

What a great memory that is! The program got tons of press, including an Arts and Culture feature on the PBS News Hour. Trump killed the program. It ceased to exist after 2016.”

Mary also sent a marvelous picture of her with the proud Ajani and First Lady Michelle Obama.

As I said, who can match that?

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