a sweet counteract to loneliness

I have been thinking about this national epidemic of loneliness, 

and wondering what we can do as individuals to fight agains the effects of virtual living, 

to create stronger connections with real human beings.

And I keep coming back to the value of communities, 

and building up tribes of people around us--

not necessarily people we need to agree with, 

but people who hold each other up in the midst of so much turbulence.

This story made me smile because my parents do this with their pool too--way to go, mom and dad!  

Lonely 94-Year-Old Man Puts Pool in Backyard and Lets Kids in Neighborhood Use It

Keith Davison, 94, was married to his wife Evy Davison for 66 years before she died of cancer last year. The silence in his household was unbearable for him and he would cry a lot because of his loneliness. Keith, who is a retired judge and resides in Morris, Minnesota, got an idea on how to treat his loneliness. He had a swimming pool built in his backyard and lets kids around his neighborhood use it for free.
 As a result, people go to his house every day and the noise never stops. That’s just what he wanted to happen.

Now the 94-year-old’s house is never quiet!

In July of this year, he showed the swimming pool to the kids of his neighborhood and told them they could use it anytime. Keith does have 3 adult children but they haven’t given him any grandchildren. So, he kind of adopted the kids in the neighborhood in a way. They have become his grandchildren. Keith himself takes a swim once in a while, but only during the rare times when no one else is in the pool.

via {the mind circle}