I wonder if Patti was made unhappy by something and choose not to participate. Hm. She WAS announced. She was initially announced, but then wasn't mentioned in all of the subsequent press releases, so I don't think it was a day-of or last-minute decision for her not to be there.
I had a wonderful time, and loved hearing everyone's stories about Stritch, but I felt like it began to drag a bit. Also, I didn't necessarily think there was a huge disconnect between the fact that Stritch died a millionaire but lived a fairly thrifty life. Her monetary generosity when she was alive was directly mentioned, and I was under the impression that not only did she come from a wealthy family, but wound up incredibly wealthy upon marrying John Bay. I also kind of thought that a lot of the things she did that could be interpreted as being thrifty (refusing to pay for tickets, demanding shopping bags from stores on 5th Avenue, not paying to have that Cartier watch repaired) she did just to see how much she could get away with.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
