I’m figuring something out and I want your help putting the finishing touches on this idea. Thank you in advance for giving this some thought.
What’s the safest # of people to gather during a pandemic? One. What’s the second best #?
It’s two. Two is a great number of people for gathering. It’s the best way we can give each other the attention we deserve. We can go deep with each other. We can get bored with each other. We can play games, catch up, and stop when we’re done.
I’m going to make a list of things that can be done by 2 people. Feel free to hit reply right now and share your favorites. Riding bikes? Playing music? Walking? Sitting on a bench and talking. So, if you can do much of that outside and wear masks when it makes sense – it’s the easiest dance to do besides the one with yourself. And if it’s hard, slow it all way down and ask the other person for help.
So, let’s say one was feeling lonely sometimes. Like me. I used to spend much of my life either arranging gatherings or attending them. I’m someone who went to 8+ festivals a Summer and loved hosting shabbat gatherings at my house when I wasn’t organizing house concerts or other meetups. Show me an interesting gathering and I am there and will possibly help organize and promote it along the way. I organized in-person classes on social media marketing from 2008 until 2 years ago all over Portland, Seattle, and the nearby regions. Howdy Boise! Anyway, all that to say this pandemic has put a crimp in my style.
That said, I’ve been following the work of Jan Keck who I met at the World Domination Summit in 2018 and then hosted his Campfire Conversations last Summer in our backyard. Just north of the cul-de-sac.
Back to the point of this missive. Are you missing parties? What are parties? They are often a series of one on one interactions. Sometimes with a small group. So, take my premise above and add it on the the series like nature of your average party experience and boom – you have your social life back again. Maybe even in a richer way.
If you would like to be a guinea pig in my experiment – ie, you would like to spend time with me – we’ll start with an hour – preferably in SE Portland or somewhere I can bike to. We’ll sit far apart. We’ll do this outside in a park, on a porch or some other spot that makes sense.
This idea is obviously not just for me. Please, if you find value in what I’m posing, feel free to try it out yourself or share Rough Notes from the Cul-de-sac with others on social media - use the share buttons below if you like.
Albert
PS – More on Vitamin T and getting your touch needs met during these times, here.
