Washington Post, 1983, when the wife of the Canadian Ambassador meets President Reagan.
"Before we met the president in his Oval Office they took us to another room, where some anxious young men told us where to stand, how long to speak and when to shove off. They told me that only Mr. Ambassador (that's what the Americans call my husband) was to have his photo opportunity with the president, in front of the fireplace. Wife of Ambassador was supposed to move away from the fireplace and out of camera range.
Well, you know how they used to describe me at home: "When she rises up, she gets confused." After the handshake I backed into the camera crew. Some of the young men began to hiss at me, but the president grabbed my arm and insisted I be in the picture too. I really didn't want to have my picture taken with the president because I know my hair looked like corkscrews. But I didn't have enough time to tell the president about this hairdresser with the gold chains who had just given me the worst permanent in my whole life and that it was going to be weeks before I was photographable."
~ Sondra Gotlieb (b. 1936) Canadian journalist, novelist, lives in Toronto, Ontario. When I Rises Up, I Gets Confused! The Best of Sondra Gotlieb. McArthur & Company 2004.
