Jefferson’s guests were also choice. Whether from Europe or America, they were men of the Enlightenment, well educated, intensely curious, avid readers, and pursuers of new knowledge of all kinds but especially about natural history and geography. They were politically active, thoughtful about matters of government, full of insight into the human condition, and also witty conversationalists, quick with a quip, full of hearty laughter even when the joke was on them.
This reminds me of having drinks after work at 111 Sutter Street in San Francisco with the attorneys at Wells Fargo; John Essex, Bruce Corbridge, Keith Hastings and Richard LaPorte.
