View From The Glen

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Philosophy Dinner Party

I like dinner parties. I'm not taking about the spontaneous, casual get together dinners with friends and their kids that happen on a fairly regular basis (although they are fabulous and fun), but rather the planned, organized-in-advance, coordinated, sophisticated, formal dinner party.

Except we live in Glengarry, so nix the formal. We don't do formal round here.

And nix the sophisticated - I don't do sophistication very well either.

I like polishing glassware, setting the table, planning food, greeting guests. Eating, drinking, talking,. Catching up with friends we don't often see. Meeting new people.

Andrew and I hosted one of these on Saturday past. A party that got its start at another event years ago when I got talking to Abel about philosophy and we decided we should start having a regular themed dinner party. We've got together about four times a year since then, a small group of philosophers who have grown into a larger group. Sometimes we meet here, sometimes at Abel's under-construction log home on the river; sometimes at Catherine and Roger's beautiful brick art and antique filled home, or Louise's place north of here on the Ottawa river.

We always have a theme. This time, as Abel contemplates a trip to Egypt, it was whether or not we would or should go on vacation to a potentially dangerous spot.

But it's not really about philosophy. That's just an excuse.



No comments: