Sangria, Summer Nights, and My Backyard Guest List

If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?

In our house, there’s a running list—maintained exclusively by me. It’s not Santa’s Nice or Naughty list; only the big man himself has access to those sacred scrolls. No, this one is far more personal. It exists only in my daydreams, updated mentally as I wander around my backyard or stir another pitcher of sangria.

It’s my Summer Barbecue Guest List:

Who from history—or from my lifelong love of entertainment—would I invite to sit beside me in an Adirondack chair and drink handcrafted sangria under the soft glow of string lights?

I adore entertaining in the summer. My backyard is modest, but I treat it like a tiny retreat—a place where mosquito fighter candles (ok Citronella) double as décor and the wind chime sings softly. Each year I add a few touches: new flowers, a statement lantern, maybe a fresh outdoor pillow that I swear I don’t need but somehow buy anyway. And every year, as I sit outside, the breeze in my hair, I revisit the guest list.

Billy Joel has made appearances on this list—because who wouldn’t want “Piano Man” playing live next to the grill? Jerry Seinfeld would absolutely question the concept of my list (“A party for dead people? Who does that?”), which somehow makes me want to invite him even more. And then there are Eli and Peyton Manning—because someone needs to help my family settle our eternal quarterback debates.

The list is long, ever-changing, and slightly chaotic—much like me. But one name never leaves. One name is permanently etched at the top, like it’s written in pixie dust:

Walt Disney.

What I wouldn’t give to have a real conversation with the greatest imagineer of all time. What we see in his parks and films is only the surface—the shiny tip of a much deeper, more daring iceberg. His mind, they say, never slept. Maybe that’s why the urban legend lives on in that he wanted to be cryogenically frozen, ready to be revived in some future era just to see if his ideas held up. I never understood that story entirely, but what I do understand is that his creativity shaped the childhoods of millions—including mine—and continues shaping generations that follow.

Some people aren’t Disney fans.

I am not one of those people.

If I ever had the chance to meet Mr. Disney, I think I’d skip the formalities and go straight in for a hug. A real one. The kind that says “thank you” without making a scene. I’d thank him for Herbie the Love Bug, which made my young heart feel like anything could come alive with a little imagination. I’d thank him for the castles, the characters, the music, the worlds he built out of thin air and big dreams. And most of all, I’d thank him for the look on my children’s faces every time we walked into Disney World—eyes wide, spirits lifted, wonder pouring out of them like light. That kind of magic stays with a mother forever.

And since this is my daydream, after the hug and the gratitude, I’d pour him a chilled glass of sangria and ask the questions that have lived rent-free in my mind for years:

What idea were you most proud of? Which one kept you up at night? What sparked your imagination the most—the characters, the worlds, or the believing?

I’d want to hear about his failures, too—the ones he learned from, the ones that stung, the ones that eventually led to something extraordinary. Because no great legacy is built without a few burnt hot dogs and wobbly patio chairs along the way.

The truth is, none of these people will ever set foot in my backyard. They’ll never taste my sangria or laugh at my mismatched patio cushions. But that’s not the point.

The point is that imagining these conversations—dreaming about what we’d say, what we’d learn, what we’d feel—reminds me why these individuals mattered to me in the first place. They shaped the soundtrack, the humor, and the curiosity in my little life. 

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Author: KikiFikar

Kiki Fikar is a native New Yorker who is passionate about taking the day to day life we all experience and sharing it in her tales from Suburbia. She will often be found at the gym, writing snippets each day for future story lines, listening to her two children create their lives, and building the perfect beachfront home and writing retreat in her mind.

13 thoughts on “Sangria, Summer Nights, and My Backyard Guest List”

  1. Did you see the Billy Joel documentary on HBO. I watched it when it came out this summer. It’s a fascinating look at his life. Great to return to so many of his hits! Piano Man, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Vienna …. Great stuff. Love your list! 🎉🎉😎😎

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  6. Awesome, fantastic, superb! This Summer Barbecue Guest List is pure imagination magic. The way you blend humor, nostalgia, and heartfelt admiration for Walt Disney makes the post unforgettable. It feels like a backyard daydream turned into a celebration of creativity and wonder — truly inspiring!

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  8. משנה תורה – קידושין Common Law

    Shalom and Howdy from Israel. As a Jew I am an atheist praise the Gods. Theology and Creed based belief systems an abomination to me. Torah faith defined as the pursuit of judicial justice which strives to make fair restitution of damages inflicted. Torah law – a judicial common law system. The idea that the State pays the salaries of judges and prosecuting attorneys – bribery. Revolutionary America despised the vertical Star Courts whose bought and paid for judges justified and validated British impressment of American sailors, stolen off of American ships on international waters…The behavior of the American courts toward Trump before and after he won the election – day and night difference! What a total disgrace, proof that the American judicial system totally corrupt together with Nancy Pelosi and her ilk who made 100s of millions from insider trading! Forced to resign in disgrace from Congress, but that hardly qualifies as justice.

    Torah defines “love” as ownership. A man cannot love that which he does not own. The Talmud interprets love through theft of his property. It teaches the mussar that a person attaches a portion of his soul to his owned property. “Life liberty and property” to keep this in an American context. Torah common law learns “love” through the mitzva of קידושין. Marriage – a man acquires his wife! But a woman simply not a slave or a whore – which can be bought and sold! So what does a man “acquire” through Cash, Contract, or Sex?

    Torah a common law legal system. Common law stands upon the central premise that it requires similar Case/Rule precedential judicial rulings. American literature 101 calls this “Compare and Contrast”. The opposite of marriage – divorce. קידושין כנגד גט. A evil man who divorces his wife but treacherously refuses to give her her “Get”/גט makes this woman a “jailed”/agunah woman. This woman if she has a child from another man without her “get” births bastard children. How does this legal condition qualify as being – at all fair and just?

    A superficial reactionary reading of the language of the Torah/Talmud – known as פשט – has no explanation. Hence rabbinic Judaism stuck in a טיפש פשט bird-brained box thinking unjust legal system! This type of law known as חוקים. Torah common law – judicial courtroom law based upon precedent similar Case/Rule -rulings made by earlier courts. Queer statute law Judaism – utterly perverted.

    Torah Law (חוקים) has nothing to do with the absurd-unknowable divine revelation. That’s Xtian and Muslim avoda zarah whose theologies and creed belief systems create their Gods from nothing other than Human belief systems. Mishnaic Common law originated from human experiences and societal needs rather than some pie in the sky divine angelic command like Muhammad’s Koran. Mishnaic common law – Court room judicial rulings.

    What does “derived from oral traditions/Oral Torah even mean? The kabbala taught by rabbis Akiva and Yishmael and Yossi HaGalilee פרדס ומידות. Herein defines “Oral Torah”. פרדס not a mystical interpretation but rather a 4 part inductive reasoning logic system. Its stands separate and apart from Plato and Aristotlte’s 3 part syllogism deductive reasoning logic system.

    Unlike the syllogistic method of deduction which dominates Greek philosophy (i.e., moving from general principles to specific conclusions), Pardes employs a fluid inductive comparative analysis approach. This means that insights, derived from similar precedent Case/Rule judicial rulings. As a loom has a warp – weft, the Talmud has halacha – aggada.

    The latter entails making a דרוש\פשט of T’NaCH prophetic mussar, which the Talmud, which means learning, cleverly weaves through רמז\סוד transforming toldot-secondary commandments & halachot – which do not require k’vanna – unto time-oriented commandments which do require k’vanna. Raising the status of rabbinic halachot to Torah time-oriented commandments defines how the Talmud/Oral Torah halachot – ritual religious observances – qualify as commandments from the Torah revelation at Sinai. Hence the reason why Oral Torah requires common law judicial precedents. Time not determined by a clock but rather prophetic mussar k’vanna. A fundamental רב חסד מאי נפקא מינא.

    גופא, which means returning back to the original discussion following a digression. What does a man acquire through the “action” of קידושין? He acquires title to the woman’s “Nefesh O’lam Ha’Bah soul. What does this mean? Answer: her future born children. Based upon the precedent of Avram’s complaint to HaShem: ‘What can you give me seeing that I have no children to inherit my wealth’? This question defines the oath alliance sworn – commonly known as the brit between the pieces, as found in Parsha לך לך – the 3rd Parsha of the Book of בראשית. Upon this bedrock foundation stands the Torah mitzva of both קידושין וגט. We have completed the circle.

    Why are the children which an Agunah woman births considered “bastards”? The mitzva of קידושין the man swears a Torah oath before two witnesses and a minyon of 10 men (like the 10 spies in the days of Moshe, or the 10 plagues or the 10 commandments etc – meaning a public event). Swearing a Torah oath/brit cut upon the soul of a man. What defines the soul of a Man? Answer: His children. The birth of his children, understood as his portion in O’lam Ha’bah!

    But that רשע who refuses to give his ex wife her “get” too faces a horrific בנין אב precedent! Just as the גר צדק/convert qualifies as a “new creation” so too the Court has the power to impose the ban of נידוי/cherem upon this רשע which makes him a “new creation” – not Jewish. Race or DNA do not determine the Jewishness of a child. Similar to how the ticking of time on a clock likewise does not shape nor determines time-oriented commandments! Only the mother determines the Jewishness of any child born in this world. Hence the court can retroactively annul the original קידושין and issue a גט to this chained woman permitting her to marry a far more worthy man.

    The language of the קריא שמע, law essentially interprets language, בכל נפשך – specifically “contract law”. Torah understood as a contract and not a theological creed belief system. Hence the wisdom of the Oral Torah it interprets the contract of the Written Torah oath brit alliance through out the generations. Interpretation of texts fluid like the falling of rain in its due season. פרדס inductive logic a dynamic rather than static syllogism deductive reasoning model. The skill required to design moving parts like as in an internal combustion engine, a completely different engineering skill than designing a fixed bridge which spans a river.

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  13. I love it, that was a beautiful day dreaming conversation and I’d be happy to hear all the answers and the inspiring insights from that meeting… I can just imagine that inspiring conversation… Olivia Newton John is one I wish I just had two minutes to converse with before she left this earth.. her music and dancing and movies shaped much of my young years and always leave me wanting to dance to this day and sing at the top of my lungs and dress up like “Sandy” and walk in to our living room like that and see my husbands jaws drop… 😂 her records shaped my days , I had no TV no radio just records and lived in the deep mountains on a river as a kid and she brought life to my soul. I’d ask her how she felt , did she feel all she sang or did she want to feel it and it’s what grew her? So many questions linger to that conversation.. a Sangria kinda day.

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