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I appreciate all the many responses I've received in response to my posting.
There have been more than I can respond to (and they're still coming in).
Thanks.

There seems to be a definite pattern to the responses so I'll go ahead and
summarize.  Arranged in proper order,

1) Don't say anything about having CD.

2) If you have to say anything, less is better.  Then, change the
conversation.

3) Use "allergy" or "intolerance".  Some responders reject the word
"disease" (i.e. celiac "disease").  When they are on the GF diet, they are
perfectly healthy and normal and don't consider themselves "diseased".

4) Definitely don't use words like "immunity", "immune" or "auto-immune" (at
least not casually) .  Many responders seem to have had the same experience
as me.  Some people, no matter how hard you try to explain,
JUST...DON'T...GET...IT.  As a result, the combination of a poor choice of
words and one of these people can result in them going off on a tangent and
thinking that CD is related somehow to AIDS.  (As a note, one other person
reported this sort of reaction from another person).

This seems to be good advice, especially for casual, social settings.
Looking back, I realize now that my explanations to other people have been
getting more and more clinical.  When given in the wrong setting,
misunderstandings are inevitable.

The catch is that this evolution towards a more and more clinical
explanation of CD has been driven by my experiences at work.  Food plays an
important role in our corporate culture.  When people bake, they bake extra
for the office.  Groups ordering out or going out for lunch are commonplace.
Employee appreciation usually takes the form of appreciation luncheons,
awards banquets, picnics, etc.  With food being used as a vehicle of
socialization like this, having to explain why I suddenly can't/don't
participate like everyone else becomes mandatory.  Otherwise, people feel
like I am snubbing them.

The worst incident I had involved a service awards banquets hosted by our
Sr. VP.  There was a choice of meals and neither was GF.  So, I arranged my
schedule so that I couldn't attend and then mentioned to the VP's secretary
that it was just as well because I had CD, etc., etc...(her answer was the
ubiquitous "there must be something on the menu you can eat" ).

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks later I was sent to Argentina.  I was very
careful and had no problems whatsoever.  When the secretary found this out,
she let me know in no uncertain terms that, if I could go away like this and
eat without any problems, then obviously I had been rude and inconsiderate
by not attending the awards banquet.  A simple "wheat allergy" was not a
valid excuse.

Because of incidents like this, it's been useful to be very clinical in my
explanations so that people can begin to see things from my perspective.  A
couple co-workers actually think GF now so that I can be a part of
food-sharing again.  But, bottom-line, I guess the lesson I needed to learn
was that I have to be aware of the audience and tailor the explanation to
them.  It's not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Thanks again for all the responses and the chance to unload.

Chuck (Delaware)