Speak Out: Who Would I Have Over for Dinner
Marc Josloff
arttimesjournal February 28, 2021
I’m a collector of quotes…over 55 pages of my favorites to live by. I haven’t counted the number of painters, photographers, writers, musicians, teachers, philosophers, scientists and athletes represented, but I’d say there are at least 100, including about 10 pages of my own musings that I jotted down so I won’t forget who I am and who I’ve been.
The heroes on my list are those whom I’ve cited many times. Each of their wise utterances reinforce my own values and give me validation and strength to stay the course and to share with others some of the same sentiments.
In my dream, these personal icons would join me over an 8-course meal, the more time to converse, nod and laugh and digest. There are many candidates, but I’ve struggled to narrow it down. I suppose you’d like to know who I’m inviting, so let me begin...
Over aperitifs, I invite painter Robert Henri to give a toast:
“There are moments in our lives
There are moments in a day,
When we seem to see beyond the usual.
Such are the moments of our greatest happiness,
Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom.
If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign;
It was in this hope
that the arts were invented;
Signposts toward greater knowledge”
As we are enjoying the coupe de melon, I remark how much I always liked Jackie Robinson, who happens to be sitting next to me. He clears his throat, and lowers the melon ball back onto the plate…
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me…all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” He adds,”You know…a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Others nod in agreement as the Waldorf salad arrives, but Oscar Wilde, a
true wise guy, rejoinders with…
I really don’t care if everyone is on the same page as me…as a matter of
fact. “When everyone agrees with me I know I must be wrong!”
With the entrance of the gefilte fish, I celebrate the knowledge that the white-mustachioed man to my left shared with the world. Albert Einstein quietly pipes up: Ah, my friend, don’t get me wrong, but “imagination is more important than knowledge.” He added to that:
“Many of my ideas had no precedent in man’s knowledge base, but you know ‘if at first an idea does not seem absurd, there is no hope for it.’” ...and he chuckled into his drooping mustache.
A smoking porterhouse arrives. I’m really in my cups sharing my dining table with these inspirational artifacts of civilization, all assembled at 31 Delaware Avenue. I can’t help but let them know, as the Lobster Thermidor is placed before all the guests, just how envious I am of each of their talents and how I wish I could contribute a fraction of it to humanity. The sculptor William Zorach responds to my gushing with the following counsel:
My good man…“Treasure talent in yourself and allow nothing to degrade it.
Recognize your own talent
Do not confuse it with the talent of another.
Allow every man his own without envy.
Do not defeat yourself.”
And then Mr. Rogers (of popular distinction), who adjusts the top button on his cardigan, adds:
“The greatest gift you can ever give is your honest self”
A flaming cherries jubilee is paraded around the table. A hot pot of java roast is served. I thank all for creating the most splendiferous moment of my life, hoping I can only live to cherish it for a long time after.
The great African-American philosopher poetess, Maya Angelou, speaks the last words:
“ Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
I raise my after-dinner brandy snifter to the wisdom and ethos of the sages.