Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner?

I’m still laughing in agreement with Lindsey Stokes’ “First Person” column on how awful dinner parties in folks’ homes are.

I’ve been sneaking away from private dinner parties, mostly before arriving, for decades. The only thing worse is a potluck where the horrors of home food preparation are multiplied by the number of participants. It would be difficult to dream up a worse joke to play on someone you don’t like.

To me, any such event is an indicator that I’ve fallen in with the wrong group. Give me my choice of restaurants and my choice of food from the menu and my choice of companions, please.

JAMES M. BAKER, San Diego