It was a festive affair a pair of my friends hosted. The gathering brought together people from the couple's professional, personal and family lives.
Anyone who has endeavored to hold such a party knows the dangers. Sometimes it's best to keep the different flavors of our selves from blending into one another on the dinner plate of life.
Who would want a mashed-potato home life mixing into a cranberry-sauce office existence? Talk about leaving a bad taste in your mouth.
My friends' house was tastefully decked. Icicle lights dangled from the gutters; a big blow-up snowman hummed away on the front lawn. Inside were perfectly placed candles, poinsettias, wreaths, greens, bows and ribbons. White lights lit up a tree.
I stepped into the kitchen to rinse my fingers. I had been a little too aggressive and dipped more than the chip.
On the counter I noticed an empty box labeled "Grandma's Old Fashioned Holiday Cookies." In one corner it read, "Winter Trees."
Winter trees? The picture showed an evergreen with ornaments, garland and a star on top. What was Grandma trying to say?
Back at the food table, which was overabundant with high-calorie, high-fat, high-flavor snacks, I picked up one of Grandma's cookies. I looked at the person on the other side of the table. "Winter trees," I said.
"Yes, I had one. Very good," the man said with a smile.
I drifted to a group talking about the ABC television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Someone commented how my friends' home had been made over with holiday lights and decorations. "And your holiday tree is magnificent."
"Winter tree," I said. And then, "Does anyone find that show as offensive as I do?"
They just stared.
