In memory of Gerda

Gerda Madsen --no relation-- was a star. She had a career that started in the silent movies and went on for years and years.
When I met her she was a lady of leisure, living in a spacious apartment in Copenhagen and more and more often, in a wonderful cottage in the country where her grandparents had lived.
Gerda was like a magnet, attracting all kinds of people because she rarely judged. She had been through many rough times herself during the war and after, but she was a survivor.
Many years after I left Denmark she had a sudden revival after a young director used her in what turned out to be a wildly popular movie.
But what I remember most clearly was a gathering at her cottage about Easter time, before her second round of fame, when one of the group cooked a leg of lamb.
I had never tasted lamb before, and I fell in love with the taste and texture of lamb, a love affair that was shared with--many years later-- Chuck.
So when I find lamb [not often] I think of these bigger-than-life people I met and loved.
What could be better than that.