Community Service
It was a perfectly cloudy and wet fall day today. The first of many. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to risk getting sick just for the sake of riding my wonderful bicycle around the city. Despite that fact, I was still able to enjoy most of my day spent downtown. I attribute that to an encouraging conversation over coffee with a good – but seldom seen – friend.
Our discussion mainly amounted to several reoccurring and predominant themes:
- Our desire to form a closer connection and existence with the communities we inhabit.
- A firm resolve to aid in the prosperity of our neighbors through our interactions with our communities.
- A wish to communicate our ideas through public service and arts projects, and co-operatives composed of small-scale food producers, to name a few.
These simple themes are encouraging to me for quite a few reasons. To start with, this is the first time I’ve managed to get these abstractions out of my head and into more concrete forms such as verbal communication and written word. It is very gratifying to finally articulate concepts that previously floated about your head, but refused to be caught. Also, our mutual desire to form some sort of collective (composed of artists, trades(wo)men, and other individuals looking to reinvigorate their geo-social geographies through creative means) dovetailed nicely with our wish to affect change. In an even happier marriage of time and circumstance, she’ll be looking to move around the same time as myself (January/February 2009). With a bit of luck, I may have just found my new roommate.
Events are transpiring that lead me to believe that my decision to move back to Atlanta is the most appropriate. Careful consideration of the benefits, synchronous events (such as her and my housing needs being met), and reestablished connections with invaluable people and resources are working together to soothe many fears that weighed heavily on my mind.
Damn, I was going to type something really profound here, but now I can’t remember what it was for the life of me. Gah, that’s what too much coffee does to me (had three mugs and a deliciously creamy cappuccino): gets me going, then I crash. Haaaard…
Best I wrap it up before I fall asleep sitting at my computer: I can’t wait to get back to Atlanta. I’m glad to have a second chance.
Good night y’all.
