We were too young to know then that Meisinger was barely old enough to be anyone�s father and that strangers often mistook him for our elder brother. When he was only sixteen he wrote mother a long letter after seeing her 1911 European debut in his native home of Vienna, Austria. Mother never revealed what that letter contained but she was so moved by its contents she wrote him back offering him a position as go between for her European engagements which were becoming more frequent since her debut. Meisinger possessed the perfect combination of a professional grace and maturity far beyond his years and the boundless energy of youth, both of which were important tools if you wanted to keep up with mother. With his command of several languages, his businesslike manner and his vast knowledge of music he became an invaluable aide to mother and the only other member of the male species that she would ever come to fully trust.
Meisinger was a fairly typical representation of his countrymen. Not overly tall, blonde, solidly framed, fine-featured and blue eyed, he attracted one�s attention with his appearance and kept it when he opened his mouth to speak. He was gentle and intense and never seemed to stop moving. Even while sitting in a chair his foot would tap or fingers would drum the armrest as he continually developed then filed away ideas in his head. People were so often shocked to discover his actual age after hearing his deep baritone voice on the telephone that he smoked cigars in an effort to look older and be taken seriously. This habit dismayed mother to no end, but she grudgingly conceded him. Allen and I were absolutely fascinated of course and begged him at every opportunity to blow smoke rings, which he was quite the master of. Unlike Nanny Lucci, Meisinger never treated us as though we were children but exactly as he did any other adult and we grew to love him for it. He became better than a father to us for he befriended my brother and I in ways that Nanny could not due to her primary loyalty to her employer. He became our co-conspirator, our confidant and our go-between during those occasions when mother became unapproachable due to temperament.
Meisinger himself was a fairly accomplished cellist and when I became proficient enough on the piano our home was filled with more music than ever before. Allen also followed suit musically as a violinist but he never seemed to enjoy it very much and preferred instead to compose songs and little symphonies for us to perform. There was no end to the musical gatherings in our parlor and we sang and played with people whose status in the outside world Allen and I were completely oblivious to. Renown composers Igor Stravinsky and Samuel Barber, jazz musicians Joe Jordan and Marion Harris, Vaudeville stars Marie Dressler, Magician Harry Blackstone Sr. (who would always try out new tricks on us) and even �Mr. Yankee Doodle� himself George M. Cohan were just a few of the many luminaries who all allowed us to place the title �aunt� or �uncle� before their names.
True to my history with Allen, I became quite accomplished at the piano long before he had mastered his violin and performed my first symphony with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago at age 13. The conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Fredrick Stock was also a frequent guest in our home and thus it was no surprise to anyone that I was invited to play with the CSO the very next year. On the one hand mother was thrilled to see all the hard work and sacrifice come to its natural conclusion, but on the other, she was absolutely adamant that this opportunity was not just being gratuitously handed to me due to her connections. Mr. Stock had to keep reassuring her that this was not the case at all and that I truly had earned the honor all on my own. After several weeks of much discussion behind closed doors (and a lot of shameless begging on my part) Mother relented and I was eventually allowed to make my debut at Orchestra Hall.
