Finding Community
According to Wikipedia, ABC’s Wide World of Sports was an “sports anthology program” that ran from 1961 to 1998. I’ve written before about watching it regularly over the years, even watching the professional bowling that was on television first. It was known for the “thrill of victory” and the “agony of defeat”, but what I liked was the variety. Like watching curling during the Olympics, it was fun to learn about something new and to find ways to appreciate the skill even if at first glance, it all looks a little odd.
I was reminded of this on the weekend. Peter and I had an errand to run in Austin and afterward went to a favorite restaurant for lunch. The big screen was a new addition and I found myself fascinated by the broadcast of a sport neither of us had ever heard of, Teqball. However, since, according to my web search, it’s played in all fifty states, around the world, and we were watching a professional tournament with cash prizes, I’m obviously late to the game. It looked like soccer played on a curved pingpong table. And if you’re late to the game with me or my description sounds confusing, here’s the Wikipedia link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teqball
Saturday’s experience reminded me, yet again, how many things there are in the world that I know nothing about. People have been sharing similar realizations through the “I was today years old” meme. But what interests me more than the oddities that so many of us overlook, is the existence of the all the subcultures in the world. I love the connections and friendships that blossom over shared interests. Some subcultures connect in person. Other groups are only online, but it doesn’t really matter how people connect, just that they do. There are people who love trains. During a train trip, I learned there are people who track certain train engines and wait for the train to come through to take pictures. I learned this from someone doing just that though I didn’t learn what he did with the pictures. Share them? Check them of a list? Frame them? Or simply enjoy the fun of seeing trains.
I spent several years as part of what I call “dance world” when I was taking lessons, competing, and going dancing with friends from the dance studio. There are different behaviors for dance world. The competitions look elegant with participants in tails and elegant gowns, but participants hoot and holler for their favorites as much as in any other sporting event. At parties, the truly great dancers are willing to dance with newbies because everyone gets a chance to learn. And the best way to learn is to dance with a variety of people who have different skills and styles.
I’ve written before about Robert Fulgham’s thoughts on community specifically around our professional identity. He says that if you hate going to professional conferences, you’re going to the wrong ones. TACUSPA has been a professional home for more than forty years, and NASPA for more than thirty. But that’s not completely true anymore. Both organizations now belong to other, younger professionals. That’s as it should be. But as I move toward retirement, it raises interesting and important questions about community. The friends with whom I shared a professional community live all over the country.
What seems interesting to me now is that I can’t possibly know all of the possibilities that are out there, even in my nearby community. It means I have lots of choice but as we all know that can be paralyzing. There are many things I want to do with my time. I’m not worried about being bored, but I also know much of what I love to do feeds my introverted side as a counter to all my extroverted work. What do I want to do to get me out and about meeting people and being in community? It probably won’t be Teqball, not even pickleball. But I’m keeping my eyes and options open, and I’ll share what I learn about this new stage of life as it goes.
But what about you? Where do you find community outside of your work world? If you’re like me and have found that work community to be immensely fulfilling and rewarding, you might be missing another option. It’s something to consider anyway. And certainly before you start nearing retirement. In the meantime, if you have a great community or know of any interesting subcultures and you’d like to share, I’d love to learn about it.
Take care,
Gage