Fourth of July Parties

I went to two very different Fourth of July parties this weekend.

At the first one, the house was immaculate and decorated for the holiday, with little copies of the Declaration of Independence available. All the guests except the hostess's recently divorced sister came as couples. Some brought children. The men stood around the grill and the women hung out in the kitchen and talked. The food was ready promptly. The women ended up in the dining room while the men ate together in the breakfast nook. We had pie for dessert. Afterward, the hostess took us girls to see her tidy and well-organized closet, then showed off some of her sewing projects. It was all so retro that it would've been comical, if not for the hilarity of the girl talk and the fact that all of them were packing and showed off their guns to each other. (Note: I do not own a gun, but I take no issue with people who do, as long as they're responsible individuals.)

At the party we went to the next night, our host had done no cleaning that I could see, and no decorating. My husband and I were the only couple in attendance, and there were no children. Two dogs were allowed to wander around at will. Our host had trouble with the grill, sending clouds of smoke everywhere, and once the grill was ready he took his time about actually cooking anything. Dinner was very late. There was no dessert. There was no gender segregation or showing off of handguns, but a lot of talk about history and music. Everything felt very relaxed and informal, like we were kids on a campout.

I had a good time at both parties. The food was great and the conversations were fun. In both cases, our hosts were generous and gregarious. I find it interesting, though, that my husband and I have friends who are so different and who have such different ideas about entertaining.

It's nice to have a wide circle of friends. Does this have anything to do with writing? Not much, other than that a diversity of social circles gives me plenty of ideas to draw on. Characters and experiences never translate directly into a story, but each new thing inspires ideas that lead to new story lines.