Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby
some have entertained angels unawares. - Hebrews 13:2
There are more stories every day of people seeking and building community.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that restaurant communal dining is catching on in our city. Big tables in the middle of the room have been tried here before and were not a hit, they say. But they're back, and the dining public is seeking them out. One person speculated that it's due to a need to get relief from our solitary Internet time. Or are more people seeing the false illusion that we are all separate?
Half-way across the country (in Denver) and a world away from the upscale restaurant biz, Brad and Libby Birky definitely get it. The Birkys are doing more than feeding the hungry. Eight months ago they set out to build a community with their SAME ("So All May Eat") Cafe. Tiny place. Seven tables. No cash register or menu prices. Pay what you can and if you can't, then help out by washing dishes or chopping veggies.
In a Los Angeles Times interview, Libby Birky said,
It's not just the food .... Often, homeless people, people in need, don't receive the same attention and care. Here, someone recognizes them, looks them in the eye, talks to them like they're just as valuable as the next person in line. That's why we do this.
They serve up fresh, homemade organic food -- pizza, soup, salad and dessert -- five days a week. Do I need to tell you that this isn't a moneymaker? Both Birkys work at other jobs to keep the cafe going.
Here's their website and a link to their latest blog entry. Your donation is tax deductible. Why not grab your checkbook and send them a little something right now -- whatever you can spare -- just because it's a fine thing to do?
On the other side of our need to connect is a need for solitude. Seeking relief from a difficult week, I walked my dog up to a little park at the top of a hill. I call it a hill. Some might say it's a mountain -- so far up in the sky that you see postcard views of Alcatraz to the north and the Bay Bridge to the east.
The amazing thing: it is utterly silent up there, aside from the sound of the wind. Imagine that. A quiet public space in this busy city.
The silence, all by itself, is magical enough, but today there were rainbows. A confluence of long wisps of fast-moving fog and bursts of sunshine created quick fans of color around one branch of a massive old Deodar tree. I blinked and the rainbow was gone. And then another would appear.
I sat on a bench paying attention to the quiet and wondering which is more magnificent -- rainbows dancing around a tree or the loving kindness of Brad and Libby Birky.
Aren't we lucky? We have both.
(c) Copyright Jane Allen. 2007. All rights reserved. U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1534-178X.
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