Yesterday, in honor of the "MLK, Jr. Volunteer Day," I rolled up my sleeves and set the table for Vice President Joe Biden. My lifetime of prep as "table-setter" instead of cook at my family's Thanksgiving dinners was a primer for this fine day.
The dinner was for Joe Biden & 1,000 of his friends, at Union Station, on the eve of the Inauguration.
I spent about 5 hours prepping candles, placing candles, lighting candles, and then making sure the lit candles did not catch the wheat centerpieces on fire. I cannot actually take credit for setting any plates.
This "fire-watcher" status let me roam the room. I did my best to protect Dustin Hoffman, Al Roker, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Tim Kaine, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and other guests from table fires.
I'm pretty sure volunteering at an elite dinner was *not* what MLK had in mind...but this year the holiday had good timing with inauguration events. To my surprise, at the end of the evening I dined with a bunch of donors from Aspen and Connecticut while we watched Biden and Obama speak. Best volunteer day ever! (Thanks to JS, and to KM, SW, DL, & ML).
Photos of other Inaugural events on my Facebook.
