Belles on their Toes

Mother marveled. "I don't know how you boys do it."
    They asked her what she meant.
    "The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court bows to you, the President and his wife hold up a receiving line to chat with you, and you make friends with policemen all the way from Montclair to Washington. I'm certainly lucky to have such fine sons."
    The boys had the good grace to think there was a slight possibility Mother might be prejudiced.

19
MOTHER WAS THERE FIRST

    Those of us who were away at college usually saw Mother three or four times a semester, as her lectures and business engagements took her across the country.
    Sometimes she'd be delivering a speech at the college itself, and would arrange her schedule so she'd have a free day to visit. Sometimes her speech would be at a city near one of the colleges, and it was possible to cut classes, hear her lecture, and then visit with her at her hotel.
    Mother knew most of the presidents and many of the professors at the various colleges we attended. Usually, too, she knew the location of all the campus buildings, their nicknames, and the geography of the town.
    It was somewhat disillusioning for a wide-eyed : freshman, importantly taking his female parent on a sight-seeing tour of an institution which he was sure Would overwhelm her with its unique traditions and : maze of modern complexities, to discover that she knew more about his university than he did.
    The home economics building? The "Home Ec" building certainly was one of the most modem in the country, Mother would agree. And it would develop that she had made a speech in the building last year, and had been on the program the year before when they dedicated it.
    The stadium? "Old Horseshoe" was mighty impressive, she would nod. Under cross-questioning, she might point out that she had received an honorary degree in ceremonies in the stadium a few years before.
    We chose our own colleges, but in most cases Mother had preceded us in the commencement parade.
    She had degrees from a dozen or more institutions, including Michigan, where Anne, Frank and Jane were graduated; Smith, Ernestine and Lillian; Rutgers, the male half of Martha's college, New Jersey State College for Women; Purdue, Bill; and Brown, Fred.
    To finish calling the roll, Dan received his diploma from the University of Pennsylvania, Jack from Princeton, and Bob from the University of North Carolina.
    Mother never sent tuition checks directly to our colleges. At the start of each year she'd turn over to us, in one lump sum, enough money for our tuition and all other expenses. When you took out your own checkbook and paid the college registrar your tuition, you realized you were supposed to get something for your money. All of us did all right in college.
    Mother spoke most often at Purdue, in West Lafayette, Indiana, where Bill was enrolled. Purdue was opening a motion study laboratory, and Mother was going to become a professor of management there. She intended to take the new job in addition to all her old ones, and to commute from Montclair to the campus once a month, for a week or so of teaching.
    On one occasion when Mother was at Purdue, she was asked unexpectedly to speak before a large lecture class in which Bill was enrolled. Bill didn't know about the invitation. It was an eight o'clock class, and he picked that particular morning to oversleep.
    Bill's professor told the students they were fortunate in having a distinguished engineer in their midst. She was Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, and it was gratifying to him that one of Dr. Gilbreth's sons was a member of that very class, and doubtless intended some day to follow in his mother's footsteps.
    He cleared his throat and started to call the roll. All the way from the "A's" down to the "G's," Mother's eyes roved the auditorium, searching for Bill. She was sitting on a platform, in a chair next to the professor's table.
    "Gibbes," said the professor.
    "Here."
    "Gilbert."
    "Here."
    "Gilbreth."
    There was an awkward pause, while Mother blushed and stopped searching. The professor looked up, cleared Ids throat again, this time with disapproval, and repeated loudly, "Gilbreth?"
    A number of Bill's friends sensed the situation simultaneously, and thought they had better come to lithe rescue.
    "Here," a dozen voices answered from all comers of the room.
    The professor put down his roll book and looked bleakly at Mother. He didn't say so, but she gathered the look was intended to convey that he had to put up with