Dedra stared at the chopskicks on the table in the Chinese restaurant in China town in Philadelphia.
We had given orders of fried rice and Dee was in desperate search for a fork. Or a spoon.
There was none to be found in the non-English speaking, very authentic Chinese restaurant.
"Take the spoon out of that jar of sause," she commanded. "I'll wipe it off with my napkin and use it."
The very famous Dr. Jim Withers picked up and eggroll with his chopskicks, promply dropped it, broke it in half, then used his chopskicks to pick out the insides.
Horrified, Dedra said, "I'm going to throw up."
I stood and walked to a table and grabbed one of the spoons used for Won Ton soup. They are uniquely shaped, pure white with a very deep bowl.
"What kind of sppon is that?" she said exclaiming it suspiciously.
We laughed.
We had forty-five minutes for a quick lunch. After a morning full of meetings, Jim and I were trying to prepare remarks that we were to give to kick off the International Street Medicine Symposium. We were trying to compare our notes over lunch but Dedra was diverting our concentration.
We were the only caucasions in the restaurant jammed with Asians.
"I am not an international girl," she proclaims.
The crisis is adverted when the fried rice arrives with a real American spoon on the plate.
It got better when we had dinner with twenty people at the Vietnam Palace. Dedra takes the umbrella out of her desert and sticks it in her hair. The entire table burst into laughter.
This morning she is having a yellow breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, pineapple and a banana. She is complaing that her stomach is upset.
Everyone at the entire Symposium comes up to tell her hello. She takes a seat at my table where I've been sitting alone writing. It quickly fills up with all of Dedra's new best friends. I've become a minor character in my own life. Dedra appears to be the center of attention.
She may not be an international girl but her southern charm has commanded an audiance from around the world.
I slide under the crowded table and leave her in charge. Making my back to my room, I wish my world good morning. Then it's time to head back downstairs for another day full of meetings and to see what the southern girl will learn today as she continues to charm an entire city.
