one recipe for a good DDT. the thing about DDTs, is that it can't be forced. deep dark talking (i tend to define "deep dark talk" as an exchange of personal information beyond the normal formalities you might encounter in a friendship) can only evolve organically in any given situation. sometimes DDTs start from the people around you, sometimes they start due to a must be talked about situation. i've had DDTs sparked by an encounter we just had with a bum. DDTs have spawned from the tongues of those curious about what the latest relationship gossip is. anything can spark a DDT, but nothing can start one if the kindling is not there. this is a lesson i've recently learned.



so anyway, despite what i just said about DDTs being organic and spontaneous, i've created an ingredients list for assessing whether or not a DDT could happen (omitting willing participants as an obvious pre-requisite). the ingredient list reads thusly: "someone old, someone new, someone borrowed, someone blue." i just went to a wedding, can you tell?



anyhow, the breakdown for this DDT recipe is pretty self-explanatory. you have a few people who you're comfortable with -- this is the someone(s) old. the someone new is someone who doesn't know any of the stories being passed around, this person's role is to ask questions and to look interested. the borrowed person is someone that wouldn't normally be hanging out with you guys but is around enough that they sort of have an idea what's going on. this person has things to add, they have fresh perspectives on a situation, they're the versatile swingmen of the DDT. the someone blue is the person with the gripe. the person with the sad story that needs to be told. the person with some proverbial fat to chew. no good discussion can be had without someone griping, right?



and that is my recipe for a start up DDT. now to test it out.