Blog-a-Dog Part Deux
Arrayed for us in the bar at Charleston was a tower of shellfish: malpeque oysters, chilled mussels and lobster, which had been decimated by the other monkeys before I arrived. There were several sauces including fresh mayonnaise with saffron that was amazing with the mussels. A dozen was not enough. Superb pâté, a galantine, and a duck terrine with foie gras garnish rounded out the goodies. We always begin with champagne - not our best line-up this time - with Knuckles hosting one only expects so much on the wine side. I'll give him credit though; this was shaping up as a very fun theme.
We moved to the table and as per usual there are certain epicenters of energy and balancing oasis of calm. I typically sit near Philosopher Dog (a glib and presumptive source of hot wind, conservatism, hastily-drawn conclusions and narrow 1988 neckties). The spot is titled "the Hot Corner" by said Dog, for punishment is swift and severe for the poor sucker that sits between us. His ability to loudly, confidently and often incorrectly overstate his case is balanced by my oversized appetite for all things conflict.
Iron Dog and Mr. Big J would be the calmer, more reasonable wine consuming members. You can expect good wine, and limited comments from these two. Want more snarky comments? Then give a lousy wine. They will quickly point fingers at purveyors of swill - like Philosopher Dog and Knuckles (Knuckles is referenced as such due to his Jersey roots, hairy knuckles and working dog approach).
Scarfmaster, Prodigal Dog and International Man of Leisure are sort of a miss-matched set. They are always a free-wheeling corner of the table and seem to self-manage. When Scarfmaster gets wound up, Prodigal Dog will zing him. When Prodigal Dog misbehaves, Scarfmaster will call him on the carpet publicly. Then, of course, Prodigal Dog typically wets on it. International tries to smooth over his miss-deeds with the rest of us, but the other two will grab him by the scruff of the neck and thrash him deservedly. As I said, self-managed. Very entertaining.
Our In-house Counsel is retained each dinner with a massive (dollar a head) retainer. He is quiet, well-attired and pretends that we all believe he is wise. Clearly the son of a preacher. We have all seen his dance in tribute to 1990 La Chappelle Hermitage a few years ago. No one is buying this demure stuff.
Our Dog most likely to be tardy thinks he's a movie star and as such will just refer to him as Hollywood. He's in the wine trade, very congenial and does a good job of balancing some of the aggressive energy from the Hot Corner. I do not know if he has realized that we know he has spent years perfecting his sexy smoking techniques for between courses.
Tonight the last Dog to arrive has come right from the plane. He is our designated joke-teller and the comedian against whom all of our guests (they are forced to stand and tell a joke) are measured. Apropos as this Cowboy is our least tall member. And Cowboy he shall be as he gave a "Cowboy" themed dinner years ago (was sort of scared where he was going with that one - clearly Brokeback Mountain had not come out yet).
To be continued…
We moved to the table and as per usual there are certain epicenters of energy and balancing oasis of calm. I typically sit near Philosopher Dog (a glib and presumptive source of hot wind, conservatism, hastily-drawn conclusions and narrow 1988 neckties). The spot is titled "the Hot Corner" by said Dog, for punishment is swift and severe for the poor sucker that sits between us. His ability to loudly, confidently and often incorrectly overstate his case is balanced by my oversized appetite for all things conflict.
Iron Dog and Mr. Big J would be the calmer, more reasonable wine consuming members. You can expect good wine, and limited comments from these two. Want more snarky comments? Then give a lousy wine. They will quickly point fingers at purveyors of swill - like Philosopher Dog and Knuckles (Knuckles is referenced as such due to his Jersey roots, hairy knuckles and working dog approach).
Scarfmaster, Prodigal Dog and International Man of Leisure are sort of a miss-matched set. They are always a free-wheeling corner of the table and seem to self-manage. When Scarfmaster gets wound up, Prodigal Dog will zing him. When Prodigal Dog misbehaves, Scarfmaster will call him on the carpet publicly. Then, of course, Prodigal Dog typically wets on it. International tries to smooth over his miss-deeds with the rest of us, but the other two will grab him by the scruff of the neck and thrash him deservedly. As I said, self-managed. Very entertaining.
Our In-house Counsel is retained each dinner with a massive (dollar a head) retainer. He is quiet, well-attired and pretends that we all believe he is wise. Clearly the son of a preacher. We have all seen his dance in tribute to 1990 La Chappelle Hermitage a few years ago. No one is buying this demure stuff.
Our Dog most likely to be tardy thinks he's a movie star and as such will just refer to him as Hollywood. He's in the wine trade, very congenial and does a good job of balancing some of the aggressive energy from the Hot Corner. I do not know if he has realized that we know he has spent years perfecting his sexy smoking techniques for between courses.
Tonight the last Dog to arrive has come right from the plane. He is our designated joke-teller and the comedian against whom all of our guests (they are forced to stand and tell a joke) are measured. Apropos as this Cowboy is our least tall member. And Cowboy he shall be as he gave a "Cowboy" themed dinner years ago (was sort of scared where he was going with that one - clearly Brokeback Mountain had not come out yet).
To be continued…
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