Viva the Potluck

I know I have a tendency to oversimplify things but imagine for a moment that the world's problems could be fixed with a potluck. Nope. Don't roll your eyes. Just stop and think about it. What if all this mess, all this division, all this crazy could be cleaned up and put away like the kitchen after a potluck?. You've seen them haven't you? The church ladies. The ones in the basement kitchen cleaning up after a Sunday potluck? They scurry around, they chide each other about all sorts of silly things, they find places for all the serving spoons that were pulled out, and when they're done the kitchen is spotless, tummies are full, and everyone goes home to take a nap.

Potlucks are amazing.

First thing I did this morning was pick up my phone to read the chatter concerning last night's State of the Union address. Why? Why did going to my phone before 6am seem like a good idea? I don't know. Did I expect sunshine and roses? Was today the day I was going to see posts where everyone basically says, "OK. We agree to disagree. Let's just get along?"

Well bummer.

I picture the powers behind social media as cunning, greedy, gods who drool. They want all of us. They want us to follow and like and comment, so others come and buy and buy and want more and more. We worship. We bow down. They don't care if I worship morning or night as long as I keep coming. If I keep coming, they'll keep feeding me and my appetite will grow. "Bow down mere mortal," they hiss from their dark corners, "Bow down and I'll give you more words, more images, more evidence to prove how right you are, and how stupid the other guy is. You'll never be satisfied but let's keep that on the down low."

Or picture them like a diabolical grandma, you know, like the witch from Hansel and Gretel who sits in dark webby woods stirring her cauldron, stirring and stirring and cackling, "Come here my sweeties. Come. Eat. All this is here for you. Everything you want is here. Come. Feast. Eat."

And she stirs and she stirs and her plan is to eat me for supper! I'm the main course. She wants to boil me tender (umm, I might take a while to tenderize) and then she wants to eat me up.

What a witch!

But what if I wasn't walking in the woods by myself? What if I'm in a group of happy people and we are only walking through the woods to get down to the river. There's a grassy spot we know of and it's right by the water. We each have cute baskets on our arms, wicker, with lids and checkered towels spilling over the sides. The smells coming from the baskets are delicious and we're giddy with anticipation. We're going to eat good food, we're going to take in sunshine and fresh air, and we're going to spend time together. Witchey-poo who? We don't even hear her.

Oh, and by the way, we are not exclusive. If we see you walking by yourself with a glazed look on your face, we reserve the right to step into your path. We will kindly pat you on the shoulder to bring you out of your stupor, smile, and lift up our basket lids to show off our bounty.

Join us. Let's hang out. We can swap stories, laugh, learn something new and agree that chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are delicious.

When we've soaked up as much of the day as we're able, we'll walk back to our cars, put a date on our calendars for our next meet-up and smile as we start our cars. This was a blast and someone was telling us about this cool park with an awesome playground. Sounds fun.

Potlucks are truly amazing.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

3/4 granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups (12 oz package) semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels. Or dark. I like dark chocolate better.

2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats

1 cup raisins - optional but if you like the chew. I've also used dried, unsweetened cherries.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in morsels, oats and raisins if you're using them. Drop dough by level 1/4 cup measure about 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 325F oven for 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes, remove to wire rack to cool completely.

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