Christening

It takes a lot for something to be cooler than Jerry Lewis on Labor Day, but the little handful of cuteness that you see pictured below, greatniece Isabella, arrived here the first Monday of this past September and upstaged the great comic without so much as one "Hey Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaady!"

(Did I ever mention the time that my parents went with Peggy and me to see Jerry in "Damn Yankees" at Baltimore's Lyric Theater? Early in the first act came a puff of smoke, an abra-cadabra moment, and when the smoke cleared, there he stood, Mephisto in Maryland. The crowd rose to its feet as one, and then I turned out to be almost the last one standing applauding the man, his philanthropy and his legacy of performance. At length, my father, seated, bade me to do the same. It was Dad who, looking over the Playbill for that show, pointed out that only a towering ego such as Jerry could write his own autobio and not mention Dean Martin, which was sort of like Stephen Hawking writing his thumbnail sketch and leaving out theoretical physics.)

But Labor Day brought us Izzy, and what a sweet bundle of hugs she is. We had a great time at the christening, and then at the party afterward. Here she is, held by her Mom, Jamie, with her Dad, my nephew Jay, in the suit behind her. Godparents are one of Jamie's brothers, David, and one of her sisters, Gabrielle.







It was a fun day for family and friends, which, when you think about it, is all that really counts. Next to join the family lineup will be baby Finley, daughter of Jay's brother Drew and his wife Laura. She is due to arrive after the holidays. Watch this space for more photos!