…then he nailed me to the chair with a rat-a-tat grilling

"What should I call my next project? Celestia? Empyrean? Royal Imperial Regal? He must run that routine on every visitor. 

This is "the Sign Lady" telling her story on NY Daily News, a woman contractor who came into contact with the deadbeat Trump. She tells about her unhappy interaction with Trump and how she managed to get him to pay his bills owed her. Virginia Postrel pointed to this sub hosting at pjmedia.

The story puts us in Trumps office. He told her to show up at that specific time. She went there to challenge him about paying up. He dismissed all that as matters for clerks and went on with his style of questioning instead. This is the moment in reading the story that matched up with something else unrelated that's been lingering for days. It's been bugging the hell out of me. This trait in Trump matches with traits shown by friends repeatedly.

I'm not talking or thinking about Trump anymore. I'm bringing it home, what he did there is corrective to a personal failure. I've been lingering on this for days.

On Monday two acquaintances stopped by after work for dinner. They stayed for two hours. We had a great time. They both work the next day.

I don't drink alcohol. Acquaintances are divided among non-driners and lushes. So I keep a completely stocked cabinet. Very well stocked. I'd blow your mind considering I don't drink. Whatever you might want is in there, that I could reasonably know about, it's a full garage type storage cabinet. It's ridiculous. Come over, you can have anything.

I know a good host will ask what they can get you by way of refreshing beverage. Immediately. So I do. Deena thinks and answers, "Water, please." Pleased with her decision.

That set the tone for everything.

I asked, she answered. Simple as that.

Others I know would insist. They'd make suggestions. Every negation and all uncertainty is call for further suggestion. So it goes, bing bong, hello, glad you can make it, would you like a cocktail? Would you like a glass of wine? Would you like red wine? Would you like white wine? Would you like a Cuba libre? Would you like gin and tonic? Would you like a beer? How about a soft drink? Would you like some vodka?

Before you can think you are hit with a barrage of bar drink suggestions that makes your head spin until you blurt out something to make the suggestions stop. Before you have your coat off, before you enter a room. That is the way of hosts that I've seen. That is where I utterly fail. I am to total fail host when it comes to that.

I was looking at a photo of a dinner win and realized the wine glasses are empty. We three all have our full choice of what we want and it's not wine and it's not cocktails. Even though all that stuff is right there. The Pepsi can stick out in the photo and so do empty wine glasses. My friends will see this photo and imagine dinner fail because of that. Dinner fail in the eyes of all drinking friends. They will not understand this as preference. They will understand this as hosting fail.

If a bottle of wine is to be opened, then they'd have to do it themselves because I cannot share the wine. That's what happened. That's what needs correction. They'll have to drink the whole bottle. That's not so hard. They'll have to decide to open the bottle. As if the decision is beyond me because I cannot drink it. And guests cannot do that. They're being polite. I really should have forced it. Even though they're working the next day. Anyone else that I know would have simply insisted. Just opened one of the bottles and poured it. That didn't occur to me any more than it would occur to me to roll a joint and torch it up and pass it around. It's not something I do so I didn't think of it. But when it comes to this wine at dinner I should think of it. I think. I think the pictures shows I really should behave more hostly obnoxious. As Trump does, as regular aggressive hosts do.

I'm still undecided.