why do we recline this evening?

i am reclining this evening after a long weekend of socializing. i am very very very blessed with good friends. and the ability to make the social world i want for myself. shelley explained this to me well this morning about how it takes work -- and can be exhausting -- to make community. it is a whole lot easier to live in a place where the community i long for is already launched. though, to be clear, i sure know and think that takes work in maintenance and patience.

i am just back from a seder supper at my neighbors' home. mel, the dog trainer, and her husband came to my party last night. and while here, in the heady euphoria you experience when you are just hitting it off with people, they invited and i accepted. i wasn't sure if it would work tonight, when it was time to go along. another couple, two former peace corps people, were on hand as well. they brought many of the courses. in point of fact, they raised and harvested the meal and then prepared it. it was yummy. and stimulating. the others are in the throes of seeding and planting. they spoke of ambitious plans for this year's crops. (keith and jenny are homesteaders and major honey brokers. they import fair trade honey from zambia (zambeea) and sell to major chains like whole foods and to co-ops around the country.

at one point, the conversation turned to college students and their right to carry concealed weapons. keith was holding forth on the importance of the right to bear arms. i asked him if he felt this way because he lived in a small town. he insisted no. so i asked if he clung to other people's guns and to his religion. his face reddened and he reeled back ready to rumble. i asked if he was bitter. then the table erupted in laughter.

the joke could have taken a real different turn.