The Meeting, Part Two

Oddly enough, I don't know that I have much to say about the meeting itself, other than that I went, and that I had the unusual experience of being interested in helping, even though I could see that participation would likely be something other than fun for much of the time. For one thing, I'm not patient, and food co-ops tend to take years to launch. No instant or even foreseeable gratification, really. For another, I'm not that good with being behind the scenes with things. I like lots of attention. And I don't like to do much work. Those can truly a tricky combo make.

The thing was, I quickly got the sense that this start-up effort had an unusual kind of spirit to it - the kind that could not only readily inspire the people around it, but also figure out how to make use of those people in a way that really sang with who they all were. In other words, I could be the cranky lazy pessimistic exhausted resigned person I am and this movement, these people, would find a way to coax contribution out of me without even really having to ask.

Or maybe it was just that they had the good sense to have a facilitator for the meeting. Either way, I trudged myself over to the meeting, and when we get back from my grandfather's memorial service this weekend, I'll spend Sunday evening at the Portland Food Co-op steering committee meeting. It won't be my first choice of pastimes - we've got several more episodes' worth of Prison Break to get through, and I'm just about to figure out the trick to the Sudoku puzzles with the level five difficulty rating - but I'll be there. And it'll be right where I belong.