In this season of weekend visits and summer socializing, the
modern mother will likely (hopefully) find herself at an adult dinner party. We
can only imagine the company will be amiable and the conversation
convivial. However, should our
modern mother find herself trapped by an obnoxious bore, or shifting in her
seat as the conversation dies amid nervous laughter, we then hope she has read
this recent piece from the New York Times: The Life (and Death) of the Party by
Bruce Feiler. Mr. Feiler not only offers ideas of how to extract oneself from a
monotonous tête-à-tête, but also suggests a few fun general questions, like,
“How many of Michelle Bachman’s 23 foster children will vote for her for
president?” We could add a few more, like, “if you had to emigrate and could
choose any non-English speaking country, which one would you choose?” Or, “What
was the first concert you ever went to?” Readers, do you have a favorite question for general
conversation?
Happy reading, and enjoy the weekend!
* image from the Style Files
3 comments:
I thought some of the questions in the article were cheezy, like " What about you, physically, is perfect?" Give me a break! I do like the one about your first concert, though.
I am sure some people would probably say asking everyone about their exemption list -- the celebrities they could sleep with with out it being actual cheating on their spouses -- but I find that one to be a h*** of a boring topic.
I love the idea that part of being well mannered is knowing how to carry on an adult conversation that engages and does necessarily include work or children. I think it explains the popularity of book clubs which are a structured way to do just that.
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