Fine Dining

Today I had the honor of serving as the host for one of the candidates for our university's presidency and his wife. That meant serving as their chauffeur and chaperone throughout the day and evening and joining them for various events, including two meals (and if you truly know me, you know that that was the real appeal to me of serving as their host!).

For supper we dined at Hawks Point*, an upscale senior living community (in whose model suite the candidate and his spouse were staying for the night) on our campus. A local business leader and his wife served as hosts for the meal, greeting each of us as we arrived, getting us all seated comfortably in a private dining room, and keeping the conversation--and wine--flowing all night long. (The wine, appropriately enough, was Hawk Crest*. I enjoyed the Chardonnay.)

We ordered individually from the menu, and I selected the Blue Hawk strip*, a huge cut of beef seasoned and then smothered in melted bleu cheese. It was preceded by a salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, bleu cheese dressing) and fresh bread sticks and accompanied by a baked potato and a side of mixed vegetables. It was followed by a rich dessert: cheesecake wrapped in a pastry, deep-fried, rolled in sugar and cinnamon, drizzled in caramel sauce, and served with vanilla ice cream and coffee.

It was enjoyable to share such a delicious meal in such a fine establishment with all the others at the table, and I had a good day getting to know the candidate and his wife as well as hearing his responses to people's questions throughout the day, which gave me a good impression of the kind of president he would be. We'll see whether he emerges as one of the three candidates whose names the search committee intends to forward for ultimate consideration.

* Dickinson State University's sports teams are called the Blue Hawks.