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| Cathy Anderson shares the story behind her 60th birthday surprise, orchestrated by her husband, Don, and their French Lick Casino host Christina Grimes (below). Cathy's daughter Carey, who has performed on Broadway, flew in to give her mom a surprise serenade in the West Baden Springs Hotel atrium. "So obviously I never go into that atrium without thinking about that," Cathy said. |
You know it’s a stellar birthday celebration when it gets
you choked up almost six years later.
“I get so…” Cathy Anderson was headed for the word
“emotional” before pausing to hold back tears. “I’ll never forget that night as
long as I live.”
Our “At Your Service” series of blogs have explored how
French Lick Resort associates have gone to some lengths to concoct memorable
moments for guests, whether it's an anniversary surprise or an origami towel creation. Cathy Anderson, meanwhile, never saw her big day coming — thanks to her
French Lick Casino host who pulled a lot of the strings on her 60th
birthday celebration, and her spouse who knows that “it’s hard to surprise
her,” Cathy’s husband Don said with a laugh.
“It was something we’d always wanted, to have her actually
have a chance to perform here, and that’s Christina was able to help arrange
for us,” Cathy said. “And made a special memory for us, for sure.”
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| Don and Cathy's daughter Carey performed on Broadway and is pictured here singing the national anthem at Radio City Music Hall at her college graduation last year. |
The surprise they executed was like something ripped from a movie script — Cathy enjoying dinner at a private table by the fireplace in the atrium, when Carey entered the atrium for the big reveal, singing “Toyland” as an appropriate tune since the atrium had just been decked out with Christmas decorations for the season.
“Carey walked out singing and Cathy just … she lost it,”
Christina recalled with a laugh. And with the pipes of a Broadway performer —
Carey has appeared in “Mamma Mia!” and “Avenue Q” among others — it also transcended
from a private serenade into a first-class show for everyone else in the atrium
with the four songs that Carey performed.
“It was definitely for everybody to hear. Mostly for Cathy,
but everybody in the atrium could hear her,” Christina said.
Likewise, Christina worked her magic arranging birthday
parties for the Andersons’ grandchildren, who incidentally have replaced French
Lick with a name they deem more appropriate: French Luck. “They say it is the
luckiest place because everyone has fun there,” Cathy explained.
“We’ve had multiple birthdays here, and one thing that I
have for every birthday that we’ve been here, when we pull into French Lick
with the big staircase (at the main entrance), I have all my grandkids’
pictures taken on the staircase. I have seen them grow up through these
pictures,” Cathy said. “For my little grandson’s ball team, (Christina) helped
me work and get one of the suites for his travel ball team. For one of my
granddaughters, we did a little spa birthday.”
Christina knows their whole crew by now, to the point she’ll say “Hey Jack” or “Hi Ruby” to Don and Cathy’s grandkids whenever they visit. She’d even have a treat waiting for the Andersons’ dog when they used to bring their pug with them.
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| Christina considers Don and Cathy her "casino parents" after knowing and working with them for so many years. Likewise, "this is another daughter of ours," Don said of Christina. |
Christina knows their whole crew by now, to the point she’ll say “Hey Jack” or “Hi Ruby” to Don and Cathy’s grandkids whenever they visit. She’d even have a treat waiting for the Andersons’ dog when they used to bring their pug with them.
If Christina is starting to sound like one of the family,
that’s because she’s practically an honorary member. When the Andersons spend
winters in Florida, they’ll sometimes spend an hour on the phone catching up
with Christina while sitting on their oceanside balcony. When they’re in
Florida, Don and Cathy say they get as homesick for French Lick as they do for
their permanent home in the Hoosier State.
It’s not just a host-guest relationship. It started that way
and has blossomed into something with far more substance.
“They are definitely my casino parents,” Christina said, a
sentiment boomeranged by Don.
“This is another daughter of ours,” he said.