Not Again!

Will it ever be possible to have a planned lunch or dinner with my former teaching colleagues that is not canceled or messed up? Methinks not! 

This time the get-together was at my house..... a potluck.followed by a discussion of what we have been reading, what we are hoping to read next, and what books we would recommend or not recommend.  

An hour before the 3 guests were to arrive, Donna called to say she was ill.... but don't worry, her husband would deliver her dish. Drat.. It just wouldn't be the same without Donna, but what can we do? 

Then 15 minutes before arrival time, Noreen, of Canceled Dinner Fame, called to say that her car would not start. She was calling CAA to come and fix whatever the problem was, but that could take hours, so she was declining to come to lunch!  

OK, so now it was down to two of us - a rather  intimate lunch - just Kathy and me - with a somewhat diminished menu. It did not promise to be much of a book-sharing discussion either....but what can you do? 

Aha! Then Noreen calls to say that the CAA has been prompt, they have fixed the problem and she can now come, but will not have time to pick up the salad. At this point, who cares? We can do without a salad, but we really need her here! 

So, yay! All was not lost. Three out of four ain't bad! The lunch was a bit late, (and yes we had enough food), the book sharing went really well and we sat and talked until after 5PM. Wine helped. 

But Geez...it would really be nice is we could get through just one lunch or dinner sometime without drama? 

PS: The very old, worn and much loved family copy of Huckleberry Finn was part of my contribution. I am waiting to read JAMES by Percival Everett, a re-imagining of Huckleberry Finn but told from the perspective  of Huck's friend Jim, an escaped slave. I am thinking it would be good to re-read the original first. It has been a very long time since I read it, and although the new book is loosely based on the original story including different outcomes to some of the events, I think it would still be helpful to recognize the connections. I have so many other books to read right now - books with library deadlines, that I am not sure how to fit all of them in, even without adding in Huckleberry Finn!