Table for 6?

In a particular conversation recently, a question was posed. Not a super unique question, or bold question. But a question that struck up thought. What five people would you invite to your fantasy dinner, dead or alive? It’s a question I honestly hadn’t given real thought to before. And as I created my list, I would occasionally think of someone more exciting and have to make eliminations. Eventually, my mind created the following.

1. Jane Austen
If you hadn’t noticed before, I’m a bit of a Jane Austen fan. Shocking, right? It’s not like I’ve posted about her multiple times, or seen Pride & Prejudice BBC enough to have it memorized, or have read her most famous six novels in a book club I formed after seeing the movie Jane Austen Book Club. Jane’s invite to my really awesome dinner is to get her perspective on marriage of today’s time versus the marriages of her time. What would her opinion be on the rate of divorce or the scandal of people living together without being married? She wrote what was considered appropriate for her time, but that doesn’t mean she agreed. So what does one of the most famous writers of relationships feel about love? I’m dying to know. And also to be her best friend.

2. J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien was not the original pick for this spot. I had picked J.K. Rowling, because I would obviously need to sit her down and convince her to write more Harry Potter novels. I mean, who doesn’t want to know what Harry, Ron, and Hermione were like in their 20s? With super dark evil defeated and being young, I bet they totally partied. Anyway, Rowling got sacked for Tolkien. I am a huge fan of his work. The Hobbit is one of my favorite books, and I have read it over a dozen times. He creates these epic stories that carry you away. “If you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” Yeah, he’s a boss like that. Also, the guy created a language. He sat one day and thought, I’m going to write this awesome epic and I think I’ll create a language too. Who does that? Awesome people, that’s who.

3. Jesus
This might seem like a stereotypical answer, but it’s more than just being a suck up to Jesus. I was raised Roman Catholic, and even though I don’t identify myself as Roman Catholic anymore, I do still believe in a God. Some kind of higher power that we’re all sharing, and calling it by a different name. I would invite him to my dinner party because I want to ask him what his opinion is of all these people supposedly preaching in his name. Does Jesus really hate fags? I highly doubt it. Personally, I think Jesus was the original hippy. He preached about loving everyone despite their faults and said we shouldn’t be judgmental idiots. He shared food, dined with people society couldn’t stand, and told us to love. So why do people not seem to get it? I want his take on the issue.

4. Henrik Zetterberg
Granted, I was tempted to put the entire Red Wings team on here. But I figured that would overmax my limit by quite a bit. I could pick several players to fill this spot, but Zetter is the one I wanted most. He’s the current capitano of the team. I want his insight on how the team is performing, what he thinks they need to work on, and how he feels being in this leadership position. Also, he’s kind of gorgeous to look at, so while he talks I’ll have to keep myself from drooling all over my food.

The last spot was the toughest to decided. I knew I wanted to have someone really special, but I am blessed to have a lot of really special people in my life. It eventually got narrowed down to four people, all of whom are family. My cousin Justene is like my little sister, since we grew up so closely. My cousin Colette is my current roommate, and knows me so well that I’m her emotional half and she’s my rational half. My aunt Carol passed away from cancer. Of all the death I have dealt with, her death still wounds me in ways I can barely handle. Watching someone so wonderful suffer from such a terrible disease is excruciating. She’s my guardian angel. There is three....drum roll please.......

5. My mom
I’ve been blessed to have not only a mom who is cool, but a mom who truly embraced her job raising me. She was not terribly young when she got pregnant, but at 21 not everyone is responsible enough to take on raising a child. There were times as a kid, where I felt like we didn’t spend that much time together, but as I grew up I realized she was working hard to provide for me. I didn’t want for anything, but I wasn’t spoiled. We spent Thanksgivings and Christmases serving food at church so I understood the value of what I had. And as I got older, I understood her more and the choices she made when raising me. Now that I’m grown and out of the nest, she’s a confidant that I can talk to when I’m feeling troubled. Or a drinking buddy when I want to relax and have a good time. I owe my mom a lot for how I am today, and especially the values I want to espouse should I have kids. We haven’t always gotten along the best, but we’ve always loved each other and that got us through all the other mucky stuff.



With the table set and the invites out, all I need to do now is prepare the food. I’m thinking coq au vin, because I don’t know what it is and I’m desperate to find out. Also wine. Lots and lots of wine :)