The sun peeked out a bit this morning, and I got there in time to take this photo and make it the day’s image. I added a second below.

I got two or three sweet shots; I’ll put them up tomorrow.

The third Zoom was beautiful; all that I hoped for.

Two or three familiar people and three or four new ones. I admitted seven people, the maximum, and locked up the meeting.

This is something I see I needed and wanted, and I hope that is true of the people signing up. I see that I am a people person at heart, and this connection is a gift to me, hopefully to others.

We asked each other many questions; Maria sat in for most of the hour; I couldn’t believe how fast the time whether the people who came on were charming and exciting.

We did a lot of talking, a lot of listening, and a lot of laughing, and I got some beautiful ideas from the teachers in the meeting about teaching writing and helping the refugee students.

My friend Ron Dotson even gave me a great tip on sleep apnea masks. It was just fantastic. This is how people need to talk to one another, face-to-face, and live.

This is one of the very best hours of my week.

Next week is the Jewish Holiday Yom Kippur, which starts on Wednesday. I don’t observe that holiday, so I’ll be there in the Zoom room, waiting to admit people at 9:50.

Use the link below; the ID and passcode are there if you need them.

This works; I am thrilled about it. I told some stories, heard some stories, and talked about dogs, naked photo taking, Maria’s creative habits, the movie about me, and how to help children learn.

The teacher’s stories were uplifting and unforgettable. How foolish of us not to leave education to them.

Here is the link you can use to get right on, and I will hopefully admit you: Wednesday, October 26, sign in anytime but by 9:50 Wednesday. We go for about an hour, but you can opt-out any time.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87822862552?pwd=V2U0SnNyejFJZlNNazZ1d3RLVUFSQT09

Meeting ID: 878 2286 2552
Passcode: 712821

After the rain, the flower of day two.

For those who don’t know, this is an experiment in building an online community, something I’ve been trying (and mostly failing) to do for some time.

Each week six or seven people are admitted to a one-hour Zoom meeting where we talk about our lives and listen to the story of other people’s lives.

So far, the meetings – I call them “Let’s Talk” are a refreshing antidote to the arguments and hostility polluting social media. A real community is forming there.