Can we talk?

A Bench With A Special Visitor

         I saw a lovely picture of a park bench on a beach or bank overlooking the water. Under it was the caption, "If you had an afternoon, who would you choose, past or present, to sit on this bench with you and converse all afternoon?"

         I won't give my immediate response first. It might be too revealing. I assumed they meant someone famous, and not someone I with whom I already have contact. Then I thought it wouldn't be anyone political, then I realized if it had to be political, I might pick from several. Dr. Ben Carson is a person whom I admire on many levels. There's Allen West.

         If it had to be historical, I think Benjamin Franklin or Patrick Henry, maybe. (Patrick was indirectly in my family tree. His father's sister is in my direct line.) Or Christopher Newport, traveler by sea. Or Borden who invented canned milk because a child died from bad milk on a voyage from England to America in the 1800's. He'd be fun to discuss food trends and the history of food preservation. But then Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone would make fascinating story tellers. They were both family men, explorers, pioneers, statesmen, and soldiers. Johnny Appleseed would make a pleasant afternoon in the breeze as well.

         Lottie Moon, missionary to China, would be pleasant company, too. She wasn't the first or the greatest missionary, but she paved the way for fund raising and support by women for work in other countries. Ruth Bell Graham would also be interesting. Or a great Indian chief. Or, Terry Bradshaw. That's over the top entertainment.

         As far as writers go, Edgar Allen Poe, Flannery O'Connor, Harper Lee, Shakespeare, Stephen Crane, Jack London, Owen Wister, would all do, one at a time. Singers, I'd like Ella Fitzgerald, or Bing Crosby, Robert Goulet, John Hartford, Jim Croce, or Eric Church, as long as he or she would sing one or two songs for me, a capella.

         As far as movie stars go, for some reason I picked older ones. Maybe I've seen more of their work. Or maybe they're past the arrogant stage. But Clint Eastwood or Clu Gulager would be good company. Both are professional and polite, though opposites of each other. One is a family man with solid values and one is a playboy. One swears like a sailor and the other is politically incorrect. But both have had very different experiences on TV and the big screen. Both are talented and very smart. Oh, don't forget handsome. If I couldn't get either one, I'd ask for Ed Asner or William Shatner. See--older actors--but bigger than life and entertaining.

         I'm not good at making decisions. I'd want more than one afternoon. Wouldn't that be educational? And memorable. You'd hang on every word, and you'd listen to the person you chose like it was the most vital afternoon in the world. I guess we should make afternoons like that with people we do know.