Carpenter's Cook-off/Someone else will have to charm Helen Thomas

Hubby and I attended the Carpenter's Cook-off Sunday at the Birchmere. This was a benefit for Carpenter's Shelter, which just celebrated 20 years of serving homeless and formerly homeless children, families and adults in Alexandria. I believe the statistic I heard at the event was that 90% of the people they help transition out of homelessness. That's pretty amazing!

I gotta tell ya, even if it hadn't been such a good cause--which it certainly was!--it was a great event to attend and I heartily recommend it for the fun and food factors alone. They had about two dozen great restaurants (Jackson 20--who won the cook-off with their incredible shrimp in remoulade, Asian Bistro, The Warehouse, Southside 815, Stardust, Restaurant Eve, Landini Brothers, Del Merei Grill, Rustico/Buzz, Hollin Hall Pastry Shop--indescribably good desserts! and so many more!) serving up samples of their food! Yum!! Of course, we had to re-sample the offerings of a number of contenders to be sure we were voting fairly. ;)

They had the Melonheads playing great tunes (Joe Walsh, Chuck Berry, Ike & Tina Turner, etc.), to which the adults and the kids rocked out. All this included in the cover price of $40, $30 of which went right to the shelter.

And then there was the auction. And you know what? We bid on the Helen Thomas dinner.

It was dinner for four with Helen so I figured we could invite somebody else who'd know what to say (perhaps j.m. tewkesbury or hughes ap williams). But the bidding very quickly eclipsed us and some lucky person got this sweet deal for $850.

We got eclipsed on lots of other wonderful items including a two night stay at any Ritz Carlton; a Kennedy Center 4th of July package; private cocktail instruction and sampling for 6 guests at PX; a Morrison House stay, dinner and gift basket and much more. They even had a Shakespeare package and a Nascar package on auction, though not in the same package. :)

I'm pleased that they were able to raise so much money for the shelter, even if it meant we didn't walk away with any of the really cool items.

Birchmere hosts this every year. I recommend you line up tickets early for next year!

PS Kudos to Congressman Jim Moran for making an appearance and supporting the Shelter!

What does one say to Helen Thomas?

I am going to a benefit that will include an auction. One of the many things you can bid on is dinner with Helen Thomas.

My first reaction was "Wow!"

My second reaction was "Heck, no, I'm not bidding on that! What would I say?!"

Well, there's always "pass the rolls, please" or I could ask the first lady of the press all the same questions she's been asked for years... "Who was your favorite president?" "What was the toughest question you ever asked?" Yadayadayada. I'd make an utter fool of myself, I'm sure.

I will, however, forever be her fan, if only for what she asked W:

"I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is: Why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet—your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth—what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil—quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?"

Yeah! Ms. Thomas, you rock! Talk about asking the $64,000 question!

A snippet of Wikipedia on Ms. Thomas:
"Helen Thomas (born August 4, 1920) is a noted news service reporter, a Hearst Newspapers columnist, and member of the White House Press Corps. She served for fifty-seven years as a correspondent and, later, White House bureau chief for United Press International (UPI). Thomas has covered every president since John F. Kennedy, was the first woman officer of the National Press Club, was the first woman member and president of the White House Correspondents Association, and the first woman member of the Gridiron Club. She has written four books; her latest is called Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public."

I'm not intimidated by a lot of people but, let's face it, this chick is sharp. I hope somebody worthy of her company bids on and gets the dinner. I'd be happy just to read the blog that will inevitably come out of it.