The 44th stranger I interviewed over dinner, back in May 2012, was with someone who really didn’t want to meet me. Kay Cameron was a part-time volunteer with the Washington Literacy Center, which teaches literacy skills to adults in the District of Columbia who read below a fifth grade level….

For the 43rd dinner interview, I traveled to Baltimore in April 2012 to have lunch with Ben Claassen III. He’s the charming creator of the comic strip DIRTFARM. He’s also the guy responsible for the illustrations that ran alongside Baggage Check — the advice column in DC’s now-defunct Express newspaper that…

The 42nd Throwback Thursday is my February 2012 meal at Bangkok Joe’s in Georgetown with experienced marketing communications executive Rozanne Weissman. She talked about her volunteer work, life in public relations, and shared the best way to crash parties in the District.

Christmas comes early for the 41st Throwback Thursday — my December 2011 dinner in Silver Spring, Maryland, with Ed Downey. At the time, he’d performed as Santa Claus for 29 years. Over a meal at Red Lobster he explained how a globetrotting past led to his current festive role.

The 40th Throwback Thursday is my December 2011 lunch in the District with Shamia Holloway, who at the time was communications manager for the Capital Area Food Bank. It’s the largest non-profit hunger organization in the DC region — also reaching into Maryland and Virginia — and its goal is…

Fans of the Rocky movies might enjoy the 39th Throwback Thursday — an afternoon with actor Burt Young (Paulie from the boxing film series) in Port Washington, New York, in October 2011. Burt talked about his lengthy acting career, but also discussed his other loves of painting and writing. Before…

Here’s the 38th Throwback Thursday article; the time I got coffee and cupcakes with Ed Koch. I met Ed in October 2011 on a trip to New York, the city where he served as mayor for three terms in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2011 he was a partner at…

Quick reminder to sign up for the Dining With Strangers mailing list and get notified every time I post a new dinner interview. To subscribe, just enter your email address in the box on the right column. Now back to the regularly scheduled Throwback Thursday. The 37th dinner with a…

Before getting into the 36th Throwback Thursday, a reminder to sign up for my mailing list to get notified when I post a new interview (including the 122nd, coming Monday). The subscription box is top of the right-hand column on the site’s main page. My 36th dinner was the second…