We Are Neighbors

When we were living in a low-technology world, we were forced to interact daily with others. Now that we live in a world requiring less dependency on one another, we have to create it. For the last 20 or 30 years, we have been moving toward a world where most people's meaningful interactions were at work. Then we had the pandemic causing people to work virtually more, with large amounts of isolation. Businesses are now creating a frictionless experience (self-checkout, for example), so we must seek friction. This is one of the things we do by committing ourselves to a third place. We say, "I'm going someplace where I'm interacting with others regularly." We see this shift with interactions reflected in our word usage too. Google Ngram can trace the relative use of words over time in books. Looking over the last two centuries, you see we once used the word friend twice as much as self. Now, we're using the word self twice as much as friend. This trend b

  My dog Otis and I take two daily walks (four miles total) if it is not raining or snowing outside. Over the past seven years, Otis and I have walked about 9,000 miles together. We meet neighbors, other dogs, children, and visitors along our traditional route. Otis is a 10-pound indoor lap dog who loves people. On a walk, he is a conversation starter. I have seen that in my neighborhood and elsewhere. MAKING FRIENDS My sister-in-law lives in Colorado Springs. In 2022, we spent a week with her and her dog. She has a busy work schedule, and her dog does not take walks. But I met three of her neighbors in just a few days of daily walks with Otis. First, there was Shay and her dogs, Darby and Mille. It turns out Shay has family back in Springfield! Then I bumped into neighbor Patty and her dog Frodo. Guess what? Patty has a daughter that just recently moved to Springfield. Then I met the Smith family, new transplants to Colorado Springs from, you guessed it, Springfield, M

  In a “hopeful neighborhood,” residents work together to discover the gifts of residents, who then imagine the possibilities, and pursue the common good together.   ​Jennifer Prophete, director of the Hopeful Neighborhood Project, led a four-hour workshop on Feb. 2 in Springfield hosted by the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors (GSBOR) Community Development Committee. The goal was to introduce the concepts of a hopeful neighborhood and discover ways for local relators to make a positive difference in neighborhoods. “Our goal at the Hopeful Neighborhood Project is to increase neighborhood well-being,” said Prophete. “We can do a lot by being connected to neighbors and building community. We're trying to help people do that by equipping, empowering and teaching them how to collaborate with others.” Prophete traveled from St. Louis to Republic and Springfield for two days of programs. The first sessions were in Republic and featured water-colored greeting cards to be shared

  The image of “small-town” America has been romanticized over the years. But still, for many who grow up in a small town, the feeling it provides is worth protecting. I know a few things about growing up in a small town. For 26 years, I called Ash Grove, Missouri, home. Growing up in Ash Grove from the mid-1960s through the 1980s was like living in Mayberry, the fictional town of Andy Griffith, on television. (More on this later). Some residents living in cities around the perimeter of Springfield have been sharing on social media about their desire to retain the "small town feel" of their town. Critics will complain that changes are causing the community to lose its “small-town feel.” Sometimes that phrase is used because the town population has grown. Sometimes it is because of increased crime, new faces in the stores, or even tax proposals. Relators often talk about the small-town feel of a town where they are selling homes. Many communities brag about having a sm

Several years ago, there was a pizza place near my office in Springfield that I decided to visit weekly for lunch and stay to meet people. On most visits, I was the only customer there. When that business closed, my attempt to discover a regular hangout seemed derailed. At first, I thought it was just me. But it turns out this is an American trend. The American Community Life Survey reported last year that only 25 percent of people living close to grocery stores, gyms, coffee shops, bowling alleys, and other ideal sites for socializing with strangers actually do socialize there at least once a week. Meanwhile, 75 percent of Americans ask, "what is a third place?" They often believe that being on social media is the best way to build social connections. (Warning: it is not). Add to this the trend toward intentional isolation – where we shop on Amazon instead of at a store or use home exercise equipment instead of socializing at a gym – and you have a trend that is bad

  The sharing economy has found its way to Springfield in the form of a tool library. Generally, people think of Uber, Lyft and Airbnb when they hear the term "sharing economy." But thanks to easy-to-use software, dedicated volunteers, and direction from Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Springfield can lay claim to a tool-sharing library. According to Hannah King, former Neighborhood Events Coordinator at CPO, there are tool libraries worldwide. "But the Springfield tool library here at the Community Partnership of the Ozarks is the only one of its kind in Missouri," said King. There is a tool library in Joplin (run by Habitat for Humanity) and a few neighborhood examples in the Kansas City area. Still, among the official 146 registered tool libraries across the globe, the one in Springfield is unique to Missouri. (Find the one nearest you online at https://localtools.org/find ). "It gets its concept from a regular library, like a book library, exce

  There must be good money in being an impersonator. Google helped me locate over 500 impersonators of President Abraham Lincoln. There is even an Association of Abe Lincoln Impersonators with nearly 100 members. Two reside in Missouri – one in St. Louis and one in Jefferson City. Mark Twain impersonators are numerous in Missouri, especially in the Hannibal and St. Louis areas. One impersonator commands $1,500 per appearance and does corporate events. The undisputed champ of Mark Twain impersonators had to be  Hal Holbrook, who died a few years ago at age 9 5. He played Twain for 60 years, longer than Samuel Langhorne Clemens did! You can find professional Elvis impersonators in Columbia, Rolla, St. Clair, Springfield, and Branson. For some reason, The King has a legion of impersonators. An Association of Elvis Tribute Artists began in 2005, and according to Good Morning America, there are nearly 35,000 Elvis Tribute Artists nationwide. What about impersonators of Santa Claus?

  We humans are social animals. That is not new information. Even the ancients knew: it is not good for man to be alone. Studying ancient and classical history shows many examples of where banishment from society was the worst possible punishment. That is because humans are made to live in a community . Let me be clear: virtual communities cannot replace real, face-to-face communities. Virtual communities cannot provide meaning and fellowship in the same way. They certainly cannot serve as intermediate structures between the individual and an all-powerful government. A virtual community is no substitute for the real thing. In his 1953 book, “The Quest for Community,” Robert Nisbet argued that radical individualism caused communities to break down. This desire for individual autonomy has weakened family, church, clubs, groups and associations . As face-to-face communities have declined, people have flocked to virtual, online communities. Many see these as "communi