Who Would You Invite for Coffee?

Frederick Buechner resurrects the question, "If we could somehow meet one of the great ones of history, which one would we choose?"

He does so with a twist of the cap that opens a jar of possibilities and we are compelled to rethink our own opportunities for self reflection.
Beyond that, I am reminded not to miss the manifestations of vulnerable and flawed greatness around me daily, incarnate in human flesh, indwelt by the Spirit.

Will history enshrine some of those we have deemed common?

What of our common clay, that of which we are being formed, will outlive us and take on the legendary lore of legacy?

The meaning of our lives is not entirely in our own hands to determine.

That which lives on, lives on and beyond and takes on life of its own and takes up its own instrument in the orchestra.

I shall keep at least one eye on the conductor and one upon the score and when He looks to me to improvise, I shall do so within the comforting structure of the larger symphony of grace knowing that he has not abandoned his baton or place at the rostrum.

But, who would I meet for conversation?

Can I simply wait until that moment when all knowledge is available?

One night, decades ago, I was on a BART train returning from the north end of the one end of the San Francisco Bay Area to the other. A rather life-beaten, disheveled man was having a lively, verbal conversation with the great Bay Area  attorney, Melvin Belli and he held his book in one hand. The dialogue was animated at times.

I could not see the invisible, deceased barrister or know how he was replying, but one man in the conversation was making his views known.

I did learn from that experience, that  can meet historical figures in books by and about them and I can converse with them there. I do not have to be suffering from delusions and I do not have to wait for eternity.

There are hundreds of interesting people alive today and within our reach. Many of them will be gone in a few years. Rather than trying to resurrect the ghosts of history, perhaps we could initiate a few conversations with the living.

Still, it is an interesting question that Buechner raises.

How would you answer?

Personally, I would not mind a coffee with the late Mr. Buechner