Dinner Parties of Yore

I rarely think of my time in California as "the good old days." And really, I'm not thinking that way now, either. But there are a few things I miss, and one of them is friends. Friends who attend dinner parties. I used to host parties several times a year and have easily 20 to 50 guests. Now in order to get any guests at all, I have to borrow my sister's friends. Don't get me wrong -- I like my sister's friends. But it would be awfully nice to have a few of my own. The kind that will actually hang out, do stuff, come over for dinner, whatever.

One of my favorite memories is of the infamous Menlo Park Tortilla Party. We ate legendary tacos, wrapped burritos with my own homemade tortillas, and blended strawberry margaritas to our hearts' content. And there were lots and lots of people. Everyone, in fact. And a pinata. With a tilde, even. I'm too lazy to go find an n with a tilde right now. The important thing to remember is: John Fedak (Large Polish Guy) + Blindfold + Baseball Bat = DANGER!

I loved the small parties too, like the one where we played Trivial Pursuit and Peter said to the other team "Are you people Feigning Ignorance!?!?" He just couldn't believe they didn't know the answer to "on what continent does the equator run through 7 countries) right off the top of their heads. He doesn't know he's extraordinary. I mean, Lisa was on the other team, and she's pretty extraordinary herself! But if you don't have a political map of the world emblazoned on your brain, you might have to think about whether it's Asia or Africa. And is Eurasia a continent for Trivial Purposes? Which is it? Are you Feigning Ignorance!?!?!?

I loved the Christmas party where we Roasted Chestnuts on an Open Fire. We had no idea what we were doing. But they turned out to be quite yummy!

I loved the Halloween party where I made witches' brew and it steamed mysteriously all night. It was cold out, so I made my favorite Golden Potato Soup, which is almost mashed potatoes with lots of really good stuff mixed in and it makes you happy. To accompany the soup I served the famous Beaudry-family Dinner Rolls, and when Santosh arrived to find them all eaten up he grieved the loss of the precious "bread-rolls," as he always called them. Ivo brought Cathy, dressed as a Cat, and now they're married. Steve dressed as a dead person, I think, and made little Nathan the Bumble Bee cry. I was myself at age 8, complete with pigtails and bare feet. And the whole garage was transformed into a bean-bag lounge with George's Ginormous Bean Bag. And, that's the night I met Conrad, aka Superman, now one of my favorite friends.

One of the last parties of that era was the Spring Chicken party. It was springtime, and I served my mom's Oven Fried Chicken with Hot Baking Powder Biscuits and Fresh Mashed Potatoes. So it was Spring Chicken and it was Good. And most importantly, there were people. Lots of people. And the people were my friends.

And now, I'm lonely.

Tomorrow, people will come, and I'll make calzones, and it'll be reminiscent of the first Calzone Party of Almost Mythical Proportions, which included All Three of the O'Neills in One Place at One Time, the Literary Treasure "Ode to a Calzone" and Head-Banging that Left us All with Perfect Posture the Next Day in Church.

But it won't be the same. I just wish I didn't have to borrow friends. They are nice friends. But I'd like to have a few of my very own again.