Member-only story
We’ve Lost Our Sense of Community
Is engagement a thing of the past?
I was out of town in a small place in southern Arizona. It was dusty and still hot. I had gone camping by myself to clear my head and write.
I needed a place that had wi-fi so I could publish the piece I wrote the night before. I actually had to ask around until someone told me the coffee shop has wi-fi. THE coffee shop. As in, the only one.
The town is a little bit like Mayberry if Mayberry had been built in the middle of the desert.
The patio was small and there were six gentleman sitting on the patio having their coffee and talking. It was the kind of place where when you go in to get your coffee there’s an old-time register and the radio is playing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
These guys were talking about the main events for the day. Fred’s new rider mower. Whether John got the old Dodge up and running again. Apparently, the mayor of Wilcox makes $400 a month and a member of the City Council makes $200.
One gentleman was wearing suspenders and another man had a token white handkerchief sticking out of the back pocket of his slacks.
