Special People: A "Book of Me" Dinner Party

For Prompt 13 and 14 of the Book of Me Project, we were told to imagine that we were throwing two dinner parties and could only invite 12 people to each.  For the first there could be no relatives on the guest list and for the second, family only.

This one was tougher than it seemed when I started out.  I kept thinking about conversation and how I would divide my attention.  For example my first choice would be Jesus Christ, but inviting Him would make all the other people seem irrelevant... unless I were to invite my friends and family who are not believers, so that they could talk to Jesus and get to know Him.  So for the purposes of this exercise I won't be including Him on my list.

As for the details of the party, I would have it at my home, but I would definitely have it catered since cooking isn't my strong suit.  Plus I wouldn't want to worry about drinks and snacks when I could be visiting with my guests.

(Hypothetical question about this hypothetical question... Would it be cheating if I made my party "plus one" so that each person on the invite list could bring their spouse??)

Here's my non-family list:

• Paul the Apostle
• Moses
• C.S. Lewis
• Tolkien
• Carrie Moreau (friend)
• Lynette Hayes (friend)
• Brother Randy Edwards (my pastor)
• Adam
• Mary, mother of Jesus
• Noah
• Joseph, son of Jacob

My runners-up are King David & Abraham.

Here's my family list.  I chose not to include anyone living, because then it sort of turns into a wedding guest list and we all know how those can turn out.  And anyway, this is a genealogy blog.

• Emma Brimer Hill
• Mary Zoey Rachal Richey
• Minnie Richey
• William Park
• Robert McGrath (my Paw Paw)
• Margaret Gamble McGrath
• Lily Theresa Chenevert Martin
• Richard Lyon Martin
• Samuel Allen Martin (my Grandad)
• Willie Henderson Taylor Martin
• Hiram Gray Austin
• William Pinckney Rose

I actually got my hubby to do this one too.  As in most things, he didn't over-analyze it as much as me, but gave me his list almost off the cuff.  He said he would simply love to hear all these men in a room having a discussion and listen like a fly on a wall.

• Jesus
• Paul
• Isaac Newton
• Einstein
• Thomas Edison
• Ben Franklin
• Ghandi
• Buddha
• Muhammad
• Pope Francis
• Eric Tarver (friend)
• Corey Tarver (friend)

So tell me.  Who would you invite to your dinner party?