This is THE question that ALWAYS stumps me on those email questionnaires. I have the hardest time thinking of somebody…original. If it could really happen, Jesus would be breaking bread with everybody and it would probably be impossible to get a date with Hitler, Stalin, Ghandi, Einstein, Columbus and my dead ancestors. And, if you think about it, dinner wouldn’t be so grand. You’d be more interested in asking questions, not eating. Maybe the question should be rephrased to say tea and crumpets or coffee and donuts. That would be more appropriate.
Katharine Hepburn is someone who always comes to mind. Her sharp wit, her demeanor, not to mention her defiance of popular culture. She was someone so sure of herself and her place in this world. And since I love to meet people who choose to be counter-culture, who go against the grain, make their own path in life, not afraid to stand up for what they truly believe in, I know we would get along famously.
But, yesterday it dawned on me who I’d really, really like to have dinner with. Gilda Radner. Actually, I don’t know if I could do dinner with her, either. She would probably get me laughing so hard that my drink would come out of my nose. But, it would be so worth it. Everybody loved Gilda. Men swooned over her. Women wanted to be like her. I truly believe she was one of those people with a heart of gold and it poured out love to everybody that met her. Gilda used humor as a survival tool. As a fat kid, she made fun of herself before the other kids could. As a bulimic, she once told a reporter she had vomited in every toilet in New York City. And, when she was dying of ovarian cancer, she did everything she could to fill her life with friends, laughter and love. Now, her memory lives on in Gilda’s Club’s all over the world.
So, in my afterlife if I am so lucky to cross paths with Gilda Radner, I’m going to make some comfort food and break bread with her. And, if you want to come along, just bring along a dish.
“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.”
- Gilda Radner, 1946-1989
