For those who have not lived in a small town, or an old neighborhood, I recommend it. Today's presentation at our local Unitarian-Universalist Church was by former head of Greenpeace's toxic waste campaign, Pat Costner. She, a few others and I were involved in a grassroots clean water crusade over 30 years ago. Pat went on to become an internationally known and respected environmental chemist who left her mark in the text of international agreements like the Stockholm Accord. Pat is at heart a small town girl who moved to backwoods Arkansas to raise her small family in peace while knowing that the human race was headed toward disaster that she stubbornly sought to avoid. The church was packed with friends, both old and new, and filled with others who share concerns about our environment, both local and global. The service started as usual and then slid into live music with Pearl Brick singing her own composition, then followed by Pat's talk.

There is allure to the digital age, the convenience of having things immediately at our beck and call... The ability to withdraw into the security of the known and familiar tunes preserved and available until the battery dies or the innards fry. And then there are those things that demand full presence. A word spoken by the wise. A chord on a real guitar. A walk in the woods. A journey that starts one year as we are young and that continues as we meet in middle years and then again as we turn more corners in years to come. It is just life in a small town. No batteries required.