If you could invite any six people to a dinner party, who would you ask? This question was posed to me recently and coming up with the answer really stretched my brain.
Since it is an imaginary scenario and quite unlikely that any of these people would actually show up at my dinner table, I decided to bend the rules a bit. I found that I would have to have several dinner parties to fit everyone in. So, I made six categories with six people each. And of course my husband would be included on all the lists so technically there would be eight people at each party, but that is perfect because I have eight dining room chairs!
My Hollywood invitation list would include:
Bill Cosby-because he would be an all-around great dinner guest.
Cary Grant-just to find out if he is really as charming as he appeared onscreen.
Tom Selleck-does this really need an explanation?
Hugh Grant-it’s a phase I’m going through.
A young Elvis Presley-for after dinner entertainment.
And my friend Michelle because she would kill me if I had all the above people at my house and didn’t invite her!
There are also many Bible characters that I would love to invite:
Eve-she could bring apple pie for dessert.
Hannah-because we have a lot in common right now.
Mary and Joseph-so I could glean their child-rearing advice.
Solomon-so he can convince my husband that there is a down side to plural marriage.
And of course Jesus Christ who is already the unseen guest at every meal.
I struggled to make a list of political figures that I would want to break bread with, but I finally came up with the following:
Benjamin Franklin-for his sage advice.
George and Laura Bush-because I just really like them.
King Charles VI of France- I added him so I could mention that he is my great-great-great-great-(total of 14 greats) grandfather. (He was also known as Charles the Mad, as in looney, but I don’t brag about that part!)
Prince William-because some day he will be the King of England.
And my younger sister, who happens to be named Elizabeth. Hopefully she would hit it off with Prince William and then I would be sister to the Queen. (I think that’s what they call an ulterior motive.)
I would also like to have a “dinner” for people that are evil and should be destroyed. Think of this as my “Arsenic and Old Lace” guest list.
Naturally Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden would be invited, along with
Carrot Top-the world’s most annoying comedian,
Sheila-the bully in high school that wouldn’t leave me alone
Whoever the men are who invented alarm clocks and underwire bras.
This naturally leads me to have a dinner for folks that I am grateful for. That list would include:
The guy who invented the all you can eat buffet
The guy who invented elastic waist pants to wear to the all you can eat buffet
The person who invented baby pacifiers
And the people who invented Double Fudge Brownie Ice Cream, Prozac and Epidurals.
I thought I’d give myself a break and have at least one pitch-in dinner. My guest list? Why that’s easy!
Wolfgang Puck, Betty Crocker, Emeril, my mom, Chef Boyardee and Martha Stewart. I don’t necessarily want to eat with Martha, but she could decorate the house and set a lovely dinner table.
My husband got in on the fun too, so I thought I’d share his list:
Adolf Hitler-so he could “ask him what his problem was.”
Samson-so he could “ask him what his problem was!”
Einstein-to discuss the theory of relativity (excuse me while I clear the dishes)
Jesus and Enoch so he could pick their brains for information
And his buddy Brian (because he doesn’t hang around our house enough already)
Okay, so now you are probably wondering, if this was really possible and I could actually invite any six people from any point in history, who would they be? The obvious choices would be my kids and any family members that have passed away, but that’s too easy isn’t it? So, I guess my list would include:
Dolly Madison-because I have been intrigued by her since I was a child
Ronald Reagan-because he could talk about everything from acting to politics
Elisabeth Elliot-because she could teach me so much about being a wife and mother
John the Baptist-because he lived during such a poignant time in history
Garrison Keillor-because I love to hear his stories
And my Dad-because of the deep love and admiration I have for him.
I am also considering having a dinner party for fashion models because it would be easy to prepare lettuce leaves and ice water for six. But what would I do with all the leftovers?
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