So, yesterday I had a bit of unscheduled fun.

I was invited to round out a dinner party for eight given in honor of a visiting out-of-towner, John Goberman, executive producer of “Live from Lincoln Center.” It was a lovely, erudite crowd, with a conversational focus on classical music. Little MC was lost most of the time — Debussey, Placido, Bach, Joshua Bell, Beverly, — yes, all names I know, but not intimately (I’m a musical minimalist when it comes to classical — I adore Beethoven and leave other composers and works by the wayside); and there were plenty of names of composers and names of works that I couldn’t pronounce, much less recognize.

Still — a very interesting evening exposing me to an entirely different world, really. What was fascinating were the anecdotes — I mean, really rich, funny, behind-the-scenes stories about everything from the Cuban Missile Crisis to performances at the White House, to, um, well, maybe enough said — some of the stories, as juicy as they were, best not be repeated … and despite my writerly inclinations, I had barely a story of my own to tell that could match theirs.

I was seated next to Goberman at dinner and he was a delightful, witty companion. After dinner, he gave a sneak preview/screening of his “Live from Lincoln Center” montage which will be shown later this morning at Holley Hall (10:30 am; Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning — go see it if you can, it is actually a thrilling piece of film, very well done) and again later today or tonight in Venice. You can call SILL at 365.6404 if you’re interested.

After dinner, I made it home in time to see the Saints go into overtime and pull out a victory. Just as I’d predicted. Better go call my bookie … .