Long-suffering readers know that I'm not naive about utopian, pie-in-the-sky dreams about some vaunted community, especially one tainted with Age of Aquarius culture. But that's not the point.
A better RV lifestyle needs to be constructed, and the term "community" expresses that goal as well as any other single word. Before theorizing and polemicizing about this project, let's keep our feet on the ground by observing some very tribal animals: our dogs.
My fellow camper has two Corgis, a grandmother and her grand-daughter. Notice the moral support Grannie gives to the Pupster as she engages in community recreational activities with my dog, Coffee Girl (the larger, black dog at the bottom of the pile):
Initially Coffee Girl was afraid of the Pupster. But soon she learned how to play with her with just the right amount of roughness. Clearly it has become fun for both of them.
Normally their play begins with the Pupster trying to bring it on. The caption here might be, "Coffee Girl, your momma wears army boots!":
Soon the spirited Pupster has Coffee Girl on her back, and when her shoulder blades hit the ashy forest soil the ten-count starts:
...8, 9, and 10! Hooray the Pupster is victorious again! After this rough-housing, regardless of who won, the two dogs are good sports about it, and express their mutual satisfaction:
Somehow I think there's more to learn from watching a pack of rowdy dogs disport at a dog park than in all the social schemes and buzzwords offered in this month's edition of "Social Engineering Today" or "Utopian World" glossy magazines.
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Those who are suspicious of the aspirations of "visionaries" -- and history has shown that you should be -- might be put at ease by experiencing another concrete embodiment of a chemical laboratory based on conflicting personalities, all stirred up by mobility and serendipity. Consider watching the movie, Bagdad Cafe. I rewatched it recently, courtesy of the ever-so-hospitable public library of Glenwood NM. I liked it better this time, in part because it brought the Mobile Kodger's platitudes down from the clouds.
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Blogosphere update: other bloggers have commented on the idea of RVers caravanning together and melding into a little tribe. For instance Kurumi Ted has commented favorably on the idea. He has his own contribution to the design of a better RV lifestyle: carrying a small motorcycle on the back of his small class C motorhome.
Oddly enough, even Wandrin' Lloyd sort of liked the idea, despite his unregenerate loyalty to unaffiliated wandering.
Earlier Mark at Box Canyon Blog assayed the idea. This brought on an avalanche of comments to his post.
A better RV lifestyle needs to be constructed, and the term "community" expresses that goal as well as any other single word. Before theorizing and polemicizing about this project, let's keep our feet on the ground by observing some very tribal animals: our dogs.
My fellow camper has two Corgis, a grandmother and her grand-daughter. Notice the moral support Grannie gives to the Pupster as she engages in community recreational activities with my dog, Coffee Girl (the larger, black dog at the bottom of the pile):
Initially Coffee Girl was afraid of the Pupster. But soon she learned how to play with her with just the right amount of roughness. Clearly it has become fun for both of them.
Normally their play begins with the Pupster trying to bring it on. The caption here might be, "Coffee Girl, your momma wears army boots!":
Soon the spirited Pupster has Coffee Girl on her back, and when her shoulder blades hit the ashy forest soil the ten-count starts:
...8, 9, and 10! Hooray the Pupster is victorious again! After this rough-housing, regardless of who won, the two dogs are good sports about it, and express their mutual satisfaction:
Somehow I think there's more to learn from watching a pack of rowdy dogs disport at a dog park than in all the social schemes and buzzwords offered in this month's edition of "Social Engineering Today" or "Utopian World" glossy magazines.
_______________________________________________________________________
Those who are suspicious of the aspirations of "visionaries" -- and history has shown that you should be -- might be put at ease by experiencing another concrete embodiment of a chemical laboratory based on conflicting personalities, all stirred up by mobility and serendipity. Consider watching the movie, Bagdad Cafe. I rewatched it recently, courtesy of the ever-so-hospitable public library of Glenwood NM. I liked it better this time, in part because it brought the Mobile Kodger's platitudes down from the clouds.
__________________________________________
Blogosphere update: other bloggers have commented on the idea of RVers caravanning together and melding into a little tribe. For instance Kurumi Ted has commented favorably on the idea. He has his own contribution to the design of a better RV lifestyle: carrying a small motorcycle on the back of his small class C motorhome.
Oddly enough, even Wandrin' Lloyd sort of liked the idea, despite his unregenerate loyalty to unaffiliated wandering.
Earlier Mark at Box Canyon Blog assayed the idea. This brought on an avalanche of comments to his post.
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