Dining with History

(Source)

Bill B., keeper of the flame over at The Lexicans, had this old Lex post up the other day.

The topic being: pick five folks from history that you'd like to have dinner with.

Just five? I'm an amateur historian, I would need a banquet hall to cover all the historical figures I'd like to sit down with over a meal (and perhaps an adult beverage or two).

Admittedly, Lex has a pretty nice list. Though he did kinda break his own rule and listed five men and five women. (Were the five women The Hobbit's list?) Anyhoo.

Five men that I would like to sit down and chew the fat with, literally I guess as it's over dinner, but figuratively as well. I'm not really sure if I'd open my mouth at all (except perhaps to take a bite of whatever it is we're eating, I am a bit of a trencherman, or a sip of whatever it is we're drinking). I might just sit back and listen, perhaps nod every now and then, just to show that I'm paying attention. Perhaps my contribution to the conversation would be no more than a question, "More wine, Sire?"

At any rate, here's my list -

• Samuel Clemens
• Napoléon Bonaparte
• George Washington
• Winston Churchill
• Carroll "Lex" LeFon

Yeah, Lex is on the list, I daresay he'd have more to contribute to the discussion than me.

I might try to get Napoléon and Mr. Clemens into an argument. I bet that Mr. Clemens might take the Corsican down a peg or two.

Five women from history? Lex's list is pretty close, I'd swap out Ms. Browning for Joan of Arc though, it's the historian in me. So my list of interesting ladies from history would look like this -

• Amelia Earhart
• Margaret Thatcher
• Abigail Adams
• Queen Elizabeth I
• Joan of Arc

I daresay though, that young Joan might put a damper on the festivities. Piety and witty conversation don't always mix!

What say you?