Tonight was the second night of our dinner club cycle [1], and it reminded me of some of the logistical planning that makes events like these turn out well. For one, people who are planning parties where there is some uncertainty about whether it will be a go or not could stand to provide timely information about location and time to let others know that everything is a go. Having the printed out directions was definitely a good move, but not having them until about half a minute before services began on a day with a Bible study was probably not a good thing. Timeliness in information is definitely something that is worthwhile to consider, and when it comes my turn to host (which will probably be in May, to close out the series), I will have to find the balance between too much communication and not enough when it comes to reassuring without bothering. It’s a delicate balance.

Since I was running a bit late today in general, and since I had been very late to the first dinner meeting, I decided to make a stealthy exit after services so I could make sure to bring my salad to dinner and not be late by a long shot. As it happens, I was the first to arrive, and got to enjoy a little bit of a local wine before the appetizers and then desert showed up with the people who brought them. One thing I noticed about the evening is that scheduling and being concerned with a lot of details seemed to be outsourced by most of the husbands to their wives. Since I did not have that luxury, I had to be concerned for myself, and it ended up working out alright as far as I was concerned.

As was the case in the previous evening, the conversation was very funny and filled with a lot of randomness. For example, whether it was because we talked long enough or drank enough wine to be a bit slap-happy, there was a running gag about the roadkill of different areas of the United States and other parts of the world. One would not think that such a joke could be funny, but it was. We talked about the roadkill in Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, Maine, Israel, and by the time we finished it had come up about half a dozen times in some fashion. As that is not a frequent subject of my humor [2], it was an unusual but funny sort of inside joke to share. The fact that the food was good definitely made matters very enjoyable as well, and there was even joking about rental properties and their hazards.

One thing I found odd about the conversation, and odd enough to notice, is the great deal of curiosity that existed for how other people met and got together. It was also a bit odd how many near-death experiences some of us have had, as well as painful injuries and close encounters with scary creatures. Despite the fact that the conversation was fair ranging (which is not surprising, since we were chatting between 4 and 5 hours in total). Given that there were nice appetizers, excellent “world famous” (according to our hosts) lasagne, homemade salad, of which I have a little bit of leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch, and a wonderful apple pie, the food was definitely not a drawback either. I have never been a part of a dinner club before, but seeing as there is good food, quirky conversation, and the chance to get to know people outside your normal social circle, it is a good idea that I hope to enjoy for a long time to come.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/the-damascas-dinner-club-party/

[2] Although, see:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/the-leper-armadillo/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/you-shall-not-eat-an-examination-of-the-biblical-food-laws/