William Donald Schaefer -- former mayor, former governor, former comptroller -- appeared at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation last night, the honoree at a fundraising event for the Myerberg Senior Center. He was more feeble and thinner than the last time I saw him, and when he moved he needed help, ably rendered by Lainy Lebow-Sachs and Rikki Spector.

He received a standing ovation from the large crowd that had come to hear the featured guest, Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis. I was surprised when Schaefer was brought to the podium to speak; he didn't strike me as having the energy or wits to perform. But he did, and what transpired could only be described as awkward, and the audience, old enough to remember when the Schaefer legend was writ, could only be described as immeasurably polite and respectful. They listened as Schaefer rambled and paused, asking three or four times, "Where am I?" But he seemed to be poking fun at himself with that question. "Just got me dressed and put me in the car," Schaefer said, unsure why he had been asked to attend the event, but again: Was he joking or genuinely baffled? There seemed to be a little bit of each in the mix.

Schaefer, who is 86, did seem to be aware that the crowd was waiting to hear Dukakis, whose cousin was the Democratic (losing) candidate for president 20 years ago. Schaefer, a Democrat who supported George H.W. Bush, made a joking reference to Michael Dukakis under helmet in an Army tank -- the public relations disaster of 1988 -- and eyes rolled and heads shook. But the remark was difficult to hear, and I doubt Olympia Dukakis caught it from offstage. All for the best.