A Bagful Of Everything

“So, what do you collect?” asked the guest seated next to my friend at a dinner party.

- Wendy Long

My friend was recounting to me the conversation she had had at a recent function. For context, that event had an arts angle, which may have been why the guest assumed fellow attendees were most likely into art, which was a fair assumption. My friend’s reply? “I collect beautiful friends,” a tongue-in-cheek remark to avoid embarrassing the guest with her real answer: “I’m not interested in collecting the kind of art you are assuming that I’m into.” As in every social situation, seemingly innocuous remarks can be interpreted in so many ways. A question on collecting can be perceived as an attempt to size someone up, but if it’s phrased differently, “Who’s your favorite artist” will be less antagonistic, as there is no implied assumption or assessment of net worth.