BOWLING ALONE? SHOVELING ALONE? Driving back from the Dr’s office, and see this

BOWLING ALONE? SHOVELING ALONE?
Driving back from the Dr’s office, and see this little old lady, maybe 90lbs, shoveling a bit at the edge of the end of her driveway. I impulsively pull over, get out, and ask her to let me do it for her. She was surprised at first, but then said she was done, and was happy to get the exercise. She smiled and thanked me. (Putting aside the fact that I probably shouldn’t be shoveling snow either.)

My great-grandfather used to take his sons (including my grandfather) around their small town and shovel neighbor’s driveways. I know because It was in the newspaper clippings. 😉 And, when I grew up, helping old folks would have been an ordinary occurrence. And almost expected of fellow small-town citizens. And the fact that it isn’t, … well, it makes me sad. Because we don’t take care and responsibility for each other.

“Bowling alone” isn’t limited to bowling. The high trust ‘little England’ or ‘village Europe’ ethic that we brought to america is being destroyed by the pretense that government and economies can make us happy.

The opposite seems increasingly true.