dinner party for 10 (ok 11, including me!)

Recently I’ve been doing some “pre-work” for a circle journal in my CKU-Chicago dorm group. The cj I’ve been thinking about is themed “What 10 people, alive or dead, would you like to invite to dinner?”

Fun idea, so I’ve been soul searching, trying to really decide who I think would be interesting to chat with.

However, a prior twopeas blog challenge made this significantly easier. Not that long ago, I listed some folks whose lives I would like to scrapbook. Well, obviously I chose them because they intrigue or interest me and I want to know more about them, their life, and/or the time frame in which they live(d). Those seven people would all be invited to dinner: daddy, Cleopatra, Oprah, Thomas Jefferson, Socrates, Amadeus Mozart and Howard Carter.

I would also invite:

Albert Einstein – what an amazing intellect. I think it would be interesting to see if he could talk “down” to those who aren’t scientifically as advanced as he was. It would be fascinating to find out how his theories evolved, and how society at that time treated a man whose theories were sometimes contrary to “common knowledge.” I’m also interested in finding out to what extent, if any, his wife was involved in his work.

Joan Baez – but not because of her music, for which she is most well known. I would love to talk to someone who lived during the 60s and 70s and was involved in the anti-establishment movement. I often feel I should have been born decades earlier than I was, because the hippie / flower child lifestyle really appeals to me. As a bonus, Joan was/is an activist for many causes that resonate with me: non-violence, human and civil rights, and the environment.

Marco Polo – a famous adventurer during the Medieval Ages. It would be fascinating to hear about his travels from Venice to Cathay (now China) and back through many countries, where he observed cultures distinctly different from those prevalent in Europe at the time. I am especially intrigued by Polo’s time as a high-ranking official of the court of Kublai Khan, a Mongol who was an Emperor of China. Altho much of his travels are detailed in “The Travels of Marco Polo,” at his deathbed, he left the famous epitaph for the world: "I have only told the half of what I saw!" – I’d like to hear the rest!!