People I want to have drinks with, or people with whom it would be interesting to discuss life.

1. Thomas Jefferson
2. Winston Churchill
3. Nikki Sixx
4. Steve Jobs
5. Mickey Mantle

Jefferson is the quintessential American for me. He could have done anything he wanted with his life and he chose to create a nation. He included naturalist, scientist, philosopher and entrepreneur among his hobbies. Unquestionably brilliant and in some ways tragically flawed, Jefferson wrote arguably the single most important manifesto of all time. I can’t imagine someone who would be more interesting, given his depth of knowledge, to sit down next to at the roadside tavern than Jefferson.

The man who is most responsible for the fact that this blog is not in German is Churchill. His reputation for drinking, carousing and womanizing earn him a place at my bar. Although, his skill as an orator is unmatched and is the reason I was initially drawn to the man. The “Blood, Sweat, Toil and Tears” and the “Never has so much been owed by so few” speeches, I could read them over and over. It would make for a helluva conversation I’m sure.

Nikki Sixx, the man should be dead…twice. Without a doubt, one of the greatest artists in a generation. He is a rock star, musician, song writer, writer and photographer. Oh and an addict. The brilliance and the flaws, these are the things I want to talk about. All of the men on my list have their demons, and so do I. If the struggle and the fall and the rise are to be the topic at this get together, who better than Sixx?

Apple. Is there much more that can be said? Steve Jobs is the technology icon of the computer age. I own Apple products (I’m using one now) and so do you, so does everyone. But any serious analysis of the company has to begin and end with Jobs. Various descriptions of him include innovator, druggie, genius, rebel, hippie and task master. I am continuously amazed by his company and the man. I would love to get a glimpse into his thought process.

The Mick. The Commerce Comet. Casey Stengel said, “He shouldn’t be this fast and this powerful. It’s very confusing.” He was terribly afraid of the bright lights of the Stadium. He was an alcoholic and a womanizer. But by all accounts, a he had a genuinely wonderful soul. That’s the thing that gets him to the bar, the dichotomy of the man.