Not so long ago Lori asked me a simple question: “If you could invite five people to dinner – real or fictitious, living or dead, who would they be?” I over-thought this one, as I always do with the simplest of questions. Should I go the historical route? Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Robespierre, Andrew Jackson and Jesus? Would we get along? Would they want me in the same room? Would Ghandi eat? Could I get away with handing out glasses of water and hoping we might score some free wine? Then there was my Hollywood line-up: Morgan Freeman and Jodi Foster, thrown in with a few characters from books/movies – Atticus Finch, Jean Luc-Picard and Graham Dalton (I’m going to make you work for that one). Would every course come after Picard directed the catering staff with lines like “make appetizers so”? Could anyone get a word in with this crowd?

I struggled with this question. What would my answer ultimately say about me? Out of five people, who would I really, deep down want to have sitting with me at a dinner table for one magical night. I sent Lori my list.

If I could have one night where five people could gather around a table. I would wish for: my Dad, my Mom, Jay and my Aunt Jen who passed away on June 24, 2005. My fifth guest is someone equally close to my heart, but will remain private. I would wish that the night would start early and carry on until dawn. And at the end of it, I would still find myself surrounded by my two favorite guys and the memory of one perfect, magical evening.