Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Letter to a Young Diner: 10 Reasons *not* to go out to Dinner.

I've found it interesting how my last post was read. I apologise if I made it sound that one could never travel. As if I could make that claim anyway! But my post had a purpose: to challenge some of the reasons we give.

This post may clear up what I meant in the last last.

One anonymous person wrote in the comments:
I would hate to see you write a post about:
10 reasons to not go out to dinner.
I could think of 10:
  1. To avoid eating dinner with your spouse;
  2. To satisfy gluttony;
  3. To cure your sadness;
  4. To spend your inheritance in a week of culinary feasting;
  5. To get drunk;
  6. To save money (depending on where you live in the world!)
  7. To buy friendship;
  8. To gain approval for your expensive tastes;
  9. If you are on the run from the law;
  10. Because you believe it will satisfy you forever.
I can think of plenty of reasons to go out for dinner. But, like travel, most people don't need those reasons. They just go anyway.

If you can get this post, you'll get my meaning in the last one.

:)

______________________
Pic by Juliarosen.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

6. When I was in Yemen it would cost 2 dollars to get a burger, chips and a coke

Matthew Moffitt said...

On the run from the law?

Justin said...

Sure. Don't want to get busted in a public spot.

:)

Victor Tavitian said...

Perhaps 'missionary' functions in a similar fashion in Christian circles to the 'lost traveler'. Quite often in chatting with people who haven't yet figured out what they want to do after college 'mission' overseas seems to be the default option.

Benjamin Ady said...

you completely lost me. I think it was the double negative in number one. A reason not to go out to dinner is to avoid eating dinner with your spouse?

It sounds like that means that you would be going out to dinner with your spouse, but you want to avoid eating dinner with her, so you choose not to go out to dinner?

Okay, wait. In the title, you say "10 reasons not to go out to dinner". but in the post, you say "10 reasons to not go out to dinner". Which lead to very different interpretations. I mean if you are going to dinner to avoiding eating dinner with your spouse, and you're saying this is a good reason not to go out to dinner, that's totally different that if you are *not* going out to dinner *in order* to avoid eating dinner with your spouse.

In any case, I think you're saying "people ought not to go out to dinner for any of the following reasons". I don't understand the problem with #'s 3, 5, and 6. Especially what's wrong with going out to dinner, with it's accompanying sense of company, good food, good wine, good conversation, etc., in order to battle sadness. I can think of far worse things to do to battle sadness.

Nicole said...

Reason #11: "Because the dead are not raised." (1 Cor 15:32)

Thanks for this series - I've loved it!

Anonymous said...

Sorry - that last comment was from me, not Nic. Got my identities confused...

Starlo