Ok here's one......If you could sit down in a dark, quiet bar and have some drinks.......

[clarice]

with ANYONE....alive or dead, who would it be? Doesn't have to be some great political or historical
figure.....could be anyone who you think is funny,crazy, interesting etc. I'll start

Mel Blanc (can you imagine?)
Joe Montana
Denzel

[ret5hd]

1. Charles Bukowski.

I think we are enough alike to each hate the other equally but still finish our beers.

[clarice]

2. Well a person DOES have to have priorities. nt

[lame54]

25. are you buyin'?

[ret5hd]

26. Only if you dislike me enough that buying the beer...

is the only way to keep you around. Oh, AND you have to be interesting enough that I want to keep you around, despite my obvious dislike for you too.

[DFW]

3. Thomas Jefferson. I even wrote out how the conversation went (sort of).

Look up the book "The Time Cellar" on Amazon. It's all in there.

[Hotler]

4. Hunter S. Thompson.

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

[clarice]

8. Ditto. nt

[vanlassie]

60. My ex was a hotel desk clerk during college

in the early 80s. HST came to town for some reason, and some time after checking in he called down to the desk and asked my ex if he could get him some weed. They spent several hours together later that night in a bar. HST was quite...interesting, to say the least.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, of Scotland

He created the Golden Retriever breed, and I would love to hear how he did it, since the founding breeds used are of some debate.

[MerryBlooms]

6. My mom. She's been gone 25 yrs, but I still think of her every day. *sigh

[LiberalEsto]

7. Same here. My mom passed away 40 years ago this month.

There are so many things I'd love to ask her.

Also:

William Shakespeare

My great-great grandmother Greta, about whom I know almost nothing.

FDR

[clarice]

9. For you and merryblooms. If it were in my power to grant your wish, I surely would. nt

[LiberalEsto]

11. That's so sweet of you, Clarice. Thanks.

There is so much I want to know about family history, but my mom passed away when I was 23, long before I had any interest in it. My mom was an only child and an immigrant from Estonia, so trying to research things is a challenge.

[MerryBlooms]

41. Awww, thank you so much.

[MerryBlooms]

10. .

Very good choices, LE.

I think to my list I would add- Agatha Christie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Einstein and Billie Holiday.

You and I can exchange notes on the Roosevelts. lol

[LiberalEsto]

12. I like your choices

[Taitertots]

31. "Pull harder, Mom. I miss you"

[MerryBlooms]

42. Very sweet, thank you.

[TexasBushwhacker]

65. My mom has been gone for 11

She's in my dreams all the time.

[WinkyDink]

13. Elizabeth Taylor. The stories!

[Aristus]

14. Voltaire, Ben Franklin & Oscar Wilde.

[Avalux]

15. Leonardo da Vinci.

There are lots I'd like to chat with for different reasons, but if I can only choose one, it would be Leo.

[LynneSin]

16. I'd pick Jesus

Then ask him what he really thinks of the religion named after him.

He'll probably be like 'I never asked for anyone to name a religion after me, I just asked people to be nicer to each other and help out each other so '

[LoveMyCali]

17. Charles Barkley

I think he's a riot and let's face it, I wouldn't have to worry about being a dainty eater.

My parents, both deceased. I was 18 when dad died and I miss talking baseball, well sports in general and just hanging out. He was absolutely the funniest person I've ever known. My mom died 11 years ago and I still find myself about to pick up the phone to ask her stupid cooking questions. I miss our coffee chats.

[av8rdave]

18. Isaac Newton

Probably the most intelligent of our species. I would love to hear his thoughts on everything from faith vs science to contemporary physics.

Could you imagine getting he, Richard Feynman and NDGT together?

[RebelOne]

19. Albert Einstein or Gloria Steinem

I admire intelligent people.

[FSogol]

20. Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, and Roberto Clemente

[onethatcares]

21. Neil Young

I like his outlook and the fact that he came back from some really scary surgery.

Plus, he sings a lot of great songs.

[Enthusiast]

53. That surgery was amazing.

I listened to Neil talk about it on NPR years ago.

[seveneyes]

22. The person that invented

[BlueJazz]

23. Stephen Hawking

[Dont call me Shirley]

24. The grandparents I never met.

[CrawlingChaos]

27. John Waters

He just seems like he'd be so much fun.

I wouldn't pick one of the many artists I worship because I'd be too in awe to engage in conversation, plus I'm a believer in the adage that it's a risky thing to meet your heroes.

[CherokeeDem]

28. I am fascinated by the universe....

It would have to be Carl Sagan but I wouldn't mind Neil deGrsse Tyson stopping by....

[a la izquierda]

34. I was thinking of Carl Sagan...

But I had to go more historical. It's my job, I suppose.

[femmocrat]

29. Jim Morrison nt

[Joe Shlabotnik]

35. Same here, no one specified how many drinks right?!

[KeepItReal]

30. Tupac Shakur

Saw him out and about in Vegas but we never actually met.

[a la izquierda]

32. My first ancestors to survive the Plague period...

Moctecuzoma (I'd want to warn him, quite honestly)
Jesus (I want to ask him what he thinks of his dipshit followers).

[think]

33. you

[clarice]

36. Oh my goodness..I'm all a twitter. *sigh* nt

[Skittles]

37. Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson

yes INDEED

[fizzgig]

56. he's on my list

yes INDEED

[murielm99]

38. Phil Ochs...

although alcohol was one of the things that led to his downfall. And mental illness, of course.

I would urge him to take care of himself. We could use his voice right now.

[KMOD]

39. My maternal grandfather,

Katherine Hepburn,
and Abraham Lincoln.

[trueblue2007]

40. I would want to spend time & drinks with King Richard III of England.

Queen Elizabeth I and President Barack Obama.

[ProfessorGAC]

43. Just Because Nobody Else Is Going That Way

I'd like to have a beer with Joe Satriani. Love to talk guitars with him.

My second choice would be Tiger Woods. For several reasons.

[GOLGO 13]

44. My big three...

~ Little Walter (harmonica blues player) Of course I'd have a bag full of fresh harps for him to show me his secrets.

~ Jack "The King" Kirby (legendary comic book artist) Of course pen, pencils & paper are at the ready.

~ Sam Kinison. I miss him.

[Tom Ripley]

45. Tallulah Bankhead or Christopher Marlowe

[Paper Roses]

46. Barbara Jordan. or Carl Sagan. The wonder of it all.

What a special thing it would be to speak with either of these incredible people.

[DryHump]

47. Vernon Howard

American spiritual teacher, author (1918 -1992). Everything he taught stuck with me, deeply.

[kairos12]

48. Groucho Marx

[amerikat]

49. Tom Waits, Nicola Tesla, Mother Jones, Chief Joseph, Will Rogers, Thomas Paine

and a few hundred others.

[cliffordu]

50. George Carlin

Or maybe Lenny Bruce.

[Hoyt]

51. Houdini and relatives. Maybe talking to Houdini would provide access to just about anyone.

[Adsos Letter]

52. Ulysses S. Grant

I read his memoirs. I'd like to ask him some things.

[Number9Dream]

54. Natalie Wood

Beautiful and interesting.

[PADemD]

55. My four

My Dad (who died when I was 4)
Lyall Watson
Nicola Tesla
Mark Twain

[IrishEyes]

57. Hard to choose one person

There are so many people. Here are a few people I would like to have a drink with. Actually, I would like to have a dinner party with all of them.

Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist
Clarence Darrow, Attorney
Bessie Coleman, Pilot
William J. Brennan, Supreme Court Justice
Charles Dickens, Writer
Margaret Chase Smith, Senator

[Ghost in the Machine]

58. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Dave Barry, Jon Stewart, George Carlin, Robin Williams & Richard Pryor n/t

[BarbaRosa]

59. MamaRosa's mom.

She passed before I met MR. It would be great to talk to the Mom of my dear wife of all these years.

[A Simple Game]

61. Can I have them all at one time?

If not all at once then in descending order. I limited myself to within the life of the United States, going back further may change my choices.

Nikola Tesla, maybe can get one of his unused ideas and make a fortune. May be the most brilliant person to ever live.
Ben Franklin, He's smart and want to know about all of the skeletons among other things.
And off on a tangent, Eugene Robinson. He's smart and just looks like he loves life and would be fun to be around.

[Ahpook]

62. My dad

I know it sounds cheesy but he passed a few months ago and I am left with guilt.

My mother divorced when I was very young so I never really knew him. She remarried a few years later and that was the family. Although, as I got older my mother told me the reasons she divorced which turned me off and never really cared about talking to him.

Ah well

[shenmue]

63. Tolkien

[chknltl]

64. Molly Ivins, Thom Hartman, Ayn Rand....

...with guest appearances of anyone, (one at a time of course), any of these three chose to invite in for questioning/cross examining.

Why Thom Hartmann? Because you couldn't pay the man enough to stay away from a debate with Ayn Rand, especially if he knew he could call forth anyone from any point in history to prove his point.

Why Molly Ivins? Well if she is to be brought back to a short life to witness and even participate in a debate this one would be the most fun for her. As a reporter, the world could benefit greatly from her perspective on this discussion.

Ok so why Ayn Rand you ask? Well, on the off chance that there is no Hell in the afterlife she would find herself in it here.

What I want to prove by all of this: Can selfishness be overcome by the power of a superior argument supported by all the facts? Are we worthy of a future much grander than anything we can imagine or are we worthy only of creating our own extinction. Arguably, our species is on such a tipping point right now.