Treasured memory in real time

Saturday, May 9, was one of those rare, life-defining blessings that carries you through the difficult days that inevitably follow. Meeting Vicki Lawrence — the Emmy-winning star of The Carol Burnett Show and Mama's Family — before her live comedy performance at the Newton Performing Arts Center is something my family and I will treasure for the rest of our lives. I have adored Vicki Lawrence for as long as I can remember. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to her publicist, Sandy Brokaw, and to her son, Garrett Schultz, who directs her touring shows for making us Vicki’s personal guests. Because the performance was sold out, she provided seats for us along the side of the auditorium. Thrilled to be in the building, all of us being able to hug her and tell her what her work meant nearly brought me to tears. She graciously signed my copy of her autobiography along with my treasured 1973 album of The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. Before the show began, I could hear Vicki warming up backstage by singing that famous song and rehearsing one of the evening’s funniest stories, recounting a backstage exchange between herself and Carol Burnett just before they performed their very first “Family” sketch together. The two women were in the ladies’ room when Carol suddenly called out in her now-famous Southern drawl, “Mama!”