Threads in the fabric

For a long item I have thought about the concept of the social fabric.  I read Bowling Alone, where the decline of civic memberships was analyzed and quantified. 

My mom and dad belonged to many clubs and groups and I oftened wondered what their motivation was for this.  My mom is 89 and she still contributes to her round robin with a few survivors of the original 12 college sisters who vowed to keep in touch after graduation.  And she prepares a topical presentation on the current theme for the Ladies Literary Club each year when her turn comes around.  Can you imagine?  Self-imposed term paper assignments for over 65 years.

So, last fall when the Case Foundation threw out a challenge for those interested to Be the Change I took the bait.  I made the pledge to write letters this year.  My thinking is that each letter would become a thread in the social fabric of the community (at least the local letters).  We have evolved from a time where we knew our neighbors to a society of independent disconnected individuals.  Doing our own thing and often not knowing who lives next door.

That is my current quest.  To reach out and make more connections.  Let a few threads fly as often as I can to reinforce the social fabric.  Tie things together.  We are all one.  And we can all use reminders.  I have to give my mom some credit here.  She sees something in the paper and she dashes off a card or a letter.  I met a guy on the street last year and he stopped me.  He said, "Last month when my house burned down, noone said a thing to me about it - except for a nice letter of consolation I got from your mother."  He is a little strange, and if you gave him the opening he would talk your ear off, and he is openly gay.  But my mom saw past all that.  She knew he was probably hurting and in need of a kind word.  So she threw him a lifeline.  I guess I want to be like my mom.