Evening star., 1936-04-02
Laments Huge Waste
Of Good Food While
Poor Talk FlOuriSheS
Sees Vengeful Spirit Dominating Many
Questions Asked by Diners of Both Sexes.
Guests Air Their Views.

gather to eat, good food Is set be-
fore them.
They smile as it is brought on and,
without being ostentatious about it,
they sniff when it is set before them.
In fact, the whole physical being ad-
justs itself for thrilling adventure.
And then (expletive deleted) what
happens?
Just as they are about to take the
first delightful mouthful Of, say, the
soup course, either the man on the
woman'S left or the woman on the
mans right says:
Have you even been to Rome?"
X X X X
THE one addressed, recognizing con-
versation as one Of the tradi-
tional handicaps of all good meals,
tries not to look annoyed. The po-
tentialities for delay in actually get
ting to the soup which inhere in such
a question are enormous. Any in
telligent gourmet recognizes them at
once. While the soup grows cold,
the victim considers the answer that
will terminate the conversation and
keep it from growing colder.
NO" he finally says in desperation.
seizing a spoon and plunging it into
the soup. He cor she" shall be un-
derstood after each use Of "he" until
further notice. wonders what there
could be in the deliCious-looking soup
that could remind any one of Rome.
II have" says the one who brought
up Rome.
That remark starts a train OF
/ thought which completely eliminates
all possibility of enjoying soup. 1t
is impossible to get the essence Of
soup served in Washington with ones
mind on Rome. For the first time in
ones life, one might wish the Goths
had done better job of having de-
stroyed the place.
The soup having become a dead
loss, the loser determines to have
his revenge. He waits, vicious light
in his eye, for the next course. 1t
arrives on schedule, but too late. BY
that time, your enemy Of dinner table
inanities has lost all interest in food.
1t Is Just something to be kept away
from the person who spoiled the
soup.
A S THE other sits with fork poised
above the tempting plate, one
leaps into the fray.
Have you ever been to London?"
He tries to keep the accent of the
''you," but it is a vain gesture. It's
there, all right. Nature has seen to
that.
Then follows an endless succession
of questions, every one Of which de-
mands an answer. Adroit dinner table
conversationalists never use anything
but the question form. Together
with the rule that one shall not talk
with food in ones mouth, the question
method is the perfect assurance that
the questionee will not be able to eat
a bite.
So many dinner parties 60 that
way; lot Of good food buried under
an avalanche Of poor conversation.
Everybody loses, including the cook.
Is 1t too much for q guest columnist
to ask: Can't something be done
about It?
IF being a guest columnist served no
other useful purpose in the world
than winning to his cause two or
three hoSteSses with courage enough
to bar conversation during the dinner,
he would not 60 back to his old way
of life feeling that everything was
vanity.
Why, indeed, shouldn't it be done?
Food Is for eating, not for stimu-
lating comparative strangers to find
something in common in conversa-
tional way. No, nor even friends.
That is all very well, but only in its
place. There are a great many prom
inent, and unprominent. citizens who
will deny that that place is at the
table.
They may not do it to the hostess
face, but when they learn that one
has become a guest columnist they
come to him and, biting the hand
that tried to feed them. tell him all
about it. And ask him please to
write something about it.
And so he does, but with feeling
that tables have been talked across
too long for any likelihood of reform
at this late day.
But, of course, one can write-and
hope!