I do get a great deal from my church friends, this is just invaluable, and we do have very lively discussions, a local Saturday night radio call-in broadcast on a secular station, very rare (WHIO 1490), carry-in dinners once a month, etc. Not bad for an assembly of less than 50 people.

What’s sad to me is that with obvious “improvements” in technology come the down side of more personal isolation. I think about this often when out and about locally. My experience is you can drive through so many neighborhoods in my town (or walk, which I mostly do) and see so few people outdoors on a regular basis. Of course it was a different story this past September when we had a 10-day power outage that forced most of us outside. The neighborhood and town in general got very lively then, like back in the day before AC and TV. But again, I am very grateful as I get older for the online free entertainment and leads that help connect me to nearly whatever I might want to pursue.

Book clubs, special interest clubs (like woodcarving or rock and gem clubs or whatever you’re into) can be a great source for meeting people with similar interests, which over a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea can lead to some excellent discussions.

Had an old friend visit a couple of months back and, although the trip was exhausting ’cause I was doing a lot of driving, we were never bored! LOL We discussed everything from art and photography and architecture to finance and pipe making. That was priceless!

Talking to old people and asking them what it was like “when” can be absolutely fascinating. Even getting a discussion going with “contemporaries” who are 10 years younger and 10 years older and comparing what was in existence when they were young can lead to a lot of thoughtful discussions…. and a lot of laughs.