..cause I think we're screwed.
(End of political commentary.)
I'm having a little trouble settling in at any new site and I'm feeling the loss of the ol' cafe. There has been some good stuff written lately, especially by DickDay and Acamus, so there is no shortage of material but for me something is missing. I noticed a post by Robert Reich at the cafe that is three days old. It has 14 comments and 3 recommends. Now that would be a fail even for me. I would be asking myself what was wrong with my thinking/writing. In this case though I think there is something larger going on. The old cafe was an organic thing that grew into a community over time. Like urban renewal, one can demolish a neighborhood and build condominiums but the charm won't return with the new residents.
On the other hand, I recall that back in the late 1950's when the S.F. police drove the bohemians out of North Beach, they migrated to other places including a little known neighborhood called Haight-Ashbury. So it is clear that the charm comes from the people, not the location. But it will take time for the new location(s) to gain that "charm" so patience and maybe even circumspection is the order of the day.
I didn't have a point to make. I just wanted to share my thought. If I had a point I guess it is that after thanking everyone who has put the effort into creating new homes for the café diaspora, I think it may take a while for the whole business to settle out. We are sort of e-bohemians, individuals who share a willingness to look at life in unconventional ways and who need to share some kind of community for emotional rescue at worst or cross-fertilization and stimulation at best? So it is not an unimportant problem where we gather but it may be a while before the problem is solved.
(Cross posted everywhere except Europa.)
