Receiving Line Inaugural Fete Members of the diplomatic community came out to toast President Bushís re-election as the 43rd U.S. president in a glittering evening of inauguration festivities. Some 50,000 Bush supporters sporting their best tuxes and evening dresses turned out at the nine official inaugural balls to celebrate a second Bush term. Most ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps attended the Freedom Ball at Union Station, which also represented the states of Alaska, Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana and Michigan. Earlier in the day, ambassadors were invited to attend Bushís swearing-in ceremony at Capitol Hill followed by a luncheon at the Blair House, which also offered a view of the parade. Although some ambassadors skipped the parade to avoid the freezing temperatures, many came out to Union Station for the ball and to catch a glimpse of President Bushóand a quick glimpse it was. Bush stopped in at about 8 p.m., catching many partygoers off guard. After a few quick words, he and the first lady dashed off to make an appearance at the other balls. Sources say the president was back at the White House and in bed by 10 p.m., although many of his supporters stayed out much later. Reflecting on the cere mony, Hungarian Ambassador Andras Simonyi said President Bushís inauguration speech was about ìpeace, democracy, reaching out to the allies and not going it alone, which I liked.î Although Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha acknowledged the anti-Bush sentiment back home, he did assure that ì[Syria] is ready to work with any [U.S.] president that is elected.î Newly appointed Ambassador Fritz Kwabena Poku of Ghana said positive gains have been made. ìAmerica is a country that can be an island by itself,î he said. ìBut the fact that it is reaching out to other countries is a lofty goal. And the people should support America for this.î óAnna Gawel Farewell to Washington's Grande Dame Baroness Garnett Stackelberg, one of Washingtonís last grande dames and well-known society columnist for more than half a century, was still filing her column for the Palm Beach Daily News when she entered Georgetown University Hospital just before Christmas. On Jan. 12, seven days after her 95th birthday, Stackelberg died of congestive heart failure. For almost six decades, she covered everything from White House state dinners to the annual Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, Fla., and interviewed everyone from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Over her lifetime, she had traveled around the world six times and visited 72 countries. ìIt is a great loss for Washington,î said Esther Coopersmith, former U.S. representative to the United Nations who was planning Stackelbergís 95th birthday party. ìI always felt when I grew up I wanted to be like Garnett,î she added. ìI just loved that woman. She was gorgeous inside and out.î Stackelbergís long life was a remarkable international adventure. Born in Nebraska in 1910, she attended Oregon State College. But when she accepted a friendís invitation to visit Shanghai in 1932, she fell in love with international life. She found a job in the U.S. consulate in Shanghai, where she later married a prominent Canadian physician, Dr. William Gardiner. The Gardinersí luxurious life abruptly ended when Japanese troops invaded Shanghai. After suffering seven months of house arrest, they were allowed to leave in December 1941. When Stackelberg and her husband returned to the United States, she lectured nationwide on China and her wartime experience, writing for the Shanghai Evening Post, among other newspapers. After a divorce, Stackelberg moved to Washington, where during an event at the British Embassy she met the handsome and charming Baron Constantine Stackelberg of Estonia, who had grown up in the Russian court of Czar Nicholas II. Nicknamed Steno, this cousin of the late Lord Louis Mountbatten was related to the royal families of Spain, Greece and Great Britain. Garnett and Steno were married on Aug. 6, 1945, the infamous day that the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. When their son was born, Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain became his godmother. After Baron Stackelberg died in 1989, Garnett remained in their spacious Adams Morgan apartment surrounded by pictures of Washingtonís high society and the worldís royalty. Although the Stackelbergs led an aristocratic life, they had thousands of friends and never put on airs. Her generosity and warmth were legendaryónever forgetting friendsí birthdays and always being honest without being unkind. Garnett is survived by her son, Charles Alexander ìSandyî von Stackelberg, his wife Nancy and two grandsons, Christian and Nicholas, of Sudbury, Mass., as well as an almost endless list of devoted friends and professional colleagues who will miss her dearly. óGail Scott