When I received the beautiful brochure inviting me to attend the Grand Opening of Scott Garland's new gallery in Old Town Monrovia, CA, I didn't dream of going to it.

But, I went on the computer and invited all my art loving friends and relatives in Southern CA, to go see my son David's collection of portraits, being featured along with two other artist's works, at this new gallery in Monrovia. All three, and the gallery owner, had been classmates at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, in the late '70s. This would be a reunion.

Then, my niece, Elena Page called, and said, "Doris you've got to be there! You're the MOM of one of the featured artists!" (Her husband, the late Raymond Page was a fantastic painter of seascapes especially, and she said he was always encouraged and refreshed by relatives and friends who attended his shows). She had gone on the computer and made plane reservations for me, so all I had to do was say yes. Well, why not?

No one else knew I was coming. We giggled as we thought of how surprised David would be when we walked in.

She picked me up Friday, at the Long Beach Airport, in a rented cute little PT Cruiser! What fun. (She didn't trust her old classic car on the freeways of L.A. anymore).

We had a nice salad in her charming condo in North Laguna, and spent the evening talking about all the fun things we were going to do for the next three days. Beginning with getting my nails done... which I have never had done before. Crazy! So, after a good breakfast the next morning, we took a quick walk in her neighborhood, seeing the rugged coast, and a cove popular with scuba divers. Beautiful homes, and gardens surrounded us.

Then we headed to South Laguna to her favorite Viet Namese nail shoppe. What a treat to have this sweet young lady trimming and doing all the unglamorous work of getting my nails to match in length and shape.

Then back up the coast, we stopped at her favorite consignment shop to enjoy showing each other stuff we liked, but didn't have to have. My favorite thing was an oil painting of a rural Indonesian scene... but I want to learn to paint one myself sometime. Her favorite thing was a red pottery pitcher, but she already has one. We decided on lunch from a hole-in-the-wall place which hands you your purchase in a plastic bag to take home with you. It was the best blackened salmon with a salad of strips of yellow bell pepper, red strips, red onions, chunks of mango, and fresh greens, with an avocado dressing. Absolutely fantastic.

When it was time to get ready, I asked Elena to help me choose between an all black outfit I had brought, and a casual beige one. She thought that the all black one would not detract from the paintings in the gallery, and I hadn't thought of that! So, a quick change, and we were off, making it to Monrovia in record time, because evidently, everyone in L.A. was at a football game. We were the first ones there. I greeted Scott Garland, owner of the gallery, whom I hadn't seen in 30 years, and he recognized me, and was pleased that I was there to surprise David.

With guests arriving until it was wall to wall people, it was easy to hide behind Elena who is tall. Then, I saw David and Teresa and Lauren come in. They worked their way through the crowd, ng friends, and heading our way. When David saw his cousin Elena, he was really surprised, and asked how she knew about this event. "Your Mom sent out an email..." Teresa saw me, her mouth dropped, and her eyes popped wide open. I put a finger up to my lips hoping she wouldn't give me away. Then, I popped out from behind Elena, and David burst into laughter and hugged me and asked how I got there. The rest is history. We did it! We carried it off!

Other family and friends who came were Jeannie and Dave Johnson, (a niece); and Laurel and Jim Howat, another niece, and their daughter Kathleen; Patrick and Amy Oden, my grand nephew and his bride, an old friend from David's high school days, Jana Scott who had come from the football game, and my son John's friend, Paul Morgan and his wife Cynthia, also from the game.

One whole wall was of David's paintings, and he dubbed it The Darrow Wall. The opposite side was works by the other artists. Scott's paintings were in the rear room, where he does his office work. Someone got a photo of the four classmates together, and I hope they'll send that to ACCD to show the freshmen class what they could look like in 29 years, IF they take care of themselves.

It was a wonderful evening. I am glad I could honor my son by being at his "game."

The rest of the weekend...

Well, it was relaxed. We talked so long at breakfast that we didn't go to church. We drove to San Clemente, down by the wharf, to meet David and Teresa and Lauren for a pizza lunch in a little open air cafe. Perfect weather, in early November, and gorgeous view of the ocean. We talked so long at lunch that the sun went down, and they had to hurry to get Lauren to her job near her home.

Back in North Laguna, we played with Elena's computer the rest of the evening, reading David's and John's blogs, just to get her acquainted with what these guys are like. I loved showing off my kids. It was a fun few days, with a very special niece, who knows from experience about losing her mate and ALL the hard things I have gone through in the last four and a half years. I am so grateful to her and for her hospitality, making it possible to attend this gala event in David's life.