"i see you already ate your dinner..."

Yesterday, on the last reading day, I took a walk to campus to go visit John who was in the library working on a paper and studying. When I got there, John told me he was in the Cougareat taking a break and getting a snack to eat. When we were done eating, I was cruising through the bridal guide they give out on campus (I still love looking at dresses), and John was reading the news. Then, all of a sudden, we hear this voice behind us. "I see you already ate dinner." Pause. "I'm giving out free dinner in the Skyroom." Another long pause.

I said, "Oh... yeah? Well, it was just a snack mostly."

The lady continued, "Well, if you want to, I'm beta testing a party. Go up to the Skyroom and tell them Lori sent you." Then she walked away. I immediately started thinking, What kind of trick is this? Is this an experiment from the psychology department? Should I trust this stranger to just give me food? Is this a trick from some scammy company to pressure me to buy something?

John and I looked at each other, then packed up our stuff and went up to the Skyroom. A few minutes later, we were sitting at a nice table, being served sweet corn soup and sparkling pear juice, roast beef, potatoes, and grilled vegetables. We were seated at the same table as Lori and her husband, who were the hosts of the party. Apparently people canceled at the last minute and they didn't want the food to go to waste, so she just went down and invited a few students to join the dinner party.

So, it took me a while to actually figure out what the party was for. Since all of the real guests knew why they were there, they didn't really need to explicitly tell us. I, on the other hand, had to figure out what was going on. So the host of the party got cancer a few years ago and had an enlightening moment. He wanted to change his life and make a difference in the world. He doesn't like how much people are enraptured in technology nowadays, and wishes people got out more, were social, and engaged in real life situations. He also wants to get people involved in doing more service. So he started a paid subscription web and print magazine to get funds by many various ways, including advertisers, companies to sponsor prizes and parties, apps on Facebook, and some online cooking class. Then, he plans parties and events where he feeds people and gives away prizes and such. This summer, he even wants to get people to help build a church in Africa, and will pay their way and take them on a safari if they go.

Long story short, I left the party with a full belly an hour and a half later with my little gift basket thinking What just happened?  It was quite the unusual evening. But the web magazine is called Connect and Eatz if you want to see what it's about. It sounds like a very charitable and great thing that this guy is doing. Plus, they fed us, and the food wasn't poisoned. I'd say everybody won.