“Love” your neighborhood. A team of community connectors that I support recently shared stories of the assets they had discovered over the past several weeks and the ways that they were engaging with each asset. As I listened to the stories I thoug...

Many Things Growing at the Community Garden The sun had just come up and was making its way over the far hillside, so mist was still hanging on the multitude of plants that are growing in the 39 plots at the community garden. After being away for 6 days on a w...

The man walking up the river shore was holding a fishing pole and I was curious about what he had caught. As I got closer, I saw that he had a kite attached to his line. I told him I was going to ask what he caught this morning and he laughed and said he [&hel...

“Palaces for the people” was a phrase used when businessman Andrew Carnegie donated money to build 2,950 libraries across the world. I have been rereading the book Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg which focuses on the value of shared space...

Last week I heard the story of a woman who loved dogs and had a dog rest stop built in her front yard. It includes a bench where she can sit and engage with neighbors and especially their dogs as they walk by. There’s also a water dish for the dogs as we...

A library in rural Montana hosted a conversation with older adults asking them, ” what should young people be asking you?” A group I am working with adopted the responses to design a community story telling event featuring older adults in the same ...

This sign was at my favorite bookstore, Roebling Books & Coffee in Cincinnati. When I was very young, this store was an auto repair shop that my Dad worked at right before he opened his own shop. I checked and the cute fluffy kittens get the unicorn ride a...

It’s been several years since I have worked on a jigsaw puzzle. Over the Thanksgiving week my grandkids and I started working on a 1000 piece puzzle. 1000 pieces seemed like a very lofty goal and there were many events going on during the week so it took...

I biked over to a nearby river where I heard that salmon could be seen jumping as they swam up river. When I arrived there were 8 – 10 people there all paying close attention to the waterfall in hopes of seeing a salmon jump the fall. Most people gathere...

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is an amazing well told story of the power of community. It delves into the damage caused by bigotry and deceit as well as the impact of courage and kindness. The history of one of the very worse institutions...