Question: If you could have dinner with two authors (dead or alive), who would they be, and what would you hope to learn from them?

My knee-jerk response to this question is to always think of James Thurber just because I really enjoy his stories. But, I understand that, personally, he wasn’t always the nicest guy to be around and I am just getting too old to want to spend time with someone being a putz. So, I will keep reading his stories but I’ll leave him off of my dinner invitation list.

I think I would pick two very different authors to spend the time with…one from the humor side and one from something else. It would be interesting to just see where the evening went. For humor, I think I would enjoy time with Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain, or maybe Scott Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). Or honestly, I would really like to sit at the table with John Cleese, Chevy Chase, or Mel Brooks. I would enjoy the journey through any of those creative minds.

On the other side, Ernest Hemingway comes to mind but I’m afraid we really wouldn’t have all that much to talk about. We’d probably end up in some kind of an argument, or just sit there shaking our heads at each other. Besides, I don’t like cigar smoke. So, no. No Hemingway. Ray Chandler might be fun, or Max Ehrlich, both from the old pulp story days which I really enjoy. Stephen King might be good. We might even end up getting out the guitars and firing up the old Fender Super Reverb. I’m not sure we play the same stuff, but that’s never stopped a couple of guitar players from having a decent time.

Or, maybe I would go for the real contrast and, along with Cleese, Chase, or Brooks I would invite the Dali Lama. From what I’ve read and seen, he has a pretty healthy sense of humor, and I think spending some time at the table with him would be near the top of my overall list.

So, if I really have to take it down to two, I’m going with Mel Brooks and the Dali Lama. Can you just imagine that? Just close your eyes for a minute and picture it. Yeah, that’s where I want to be.

And, what do I want to learn? I think just spending the time in their aura and soaking up the energy would be worth more than any “learning” I might find. Though, hearing how they have faced so many obstacles, pains, losses, and still bring such an amazing story to the world is what I would like to learn about. But mostly, just to sit there and listen…look into their eyes…hear their stories…that would be the dinner for me.

By the way, if anyone reading this has the clout to make this dinner happen, you’re invited to join us!