Action Plan For Harmony

Well, as some of you might know; but probably not. I grew up at the end of a one mile dead end dirt road at the top of a mountain. Being away from home over the past few years has been an eye opening experience as to what life really was like when I was home. We live in really different worlds, even our next door neighbours can be complete strangers. For example, last fall, the house next door burned to the ground because the people there had been using it for a storage place for stolen property as well as a marijuana grow operation.
Over Christmas, my mom and I decided to do lots of baking and do up trays of cookies and squares to give to the people on our road. A lot of these people I had never even met before because for us and myself growing up, my concept of the people who lived in my community were the people who attended my church. While that was quite a few people, it certainly wasn’t everyone. When I moved away from home to Newfoundland for University, I realized that there were a lot of social problems there such as domestic violence and alcohol abuse. When my mom and I went on this venture, I realized that this, for all these years had also been a problem literally right in our own backyard. The conditions under some of the people were living were horrible and I’m absolutely sure they felt as they weren’t part of any community at all. Sure we have a “community association”, and even a community newsletter, but I’m sure once again, these things are almost exclusively participated in by the church going crowd. This becomes quite a barrier for those who aren’t religious and I want to seek to find a common ground where everyone can come together.
When I go back to visit my parents, this summer I am going to organize a BBQ for all the residents of my road. I’m certain that some of them have never even met each other, much like I hadn’t; even having lived there for 17 years. Everyone likes food, and everyone can walk to my parents house, its just a simple matter of getting some hot dogs, making some flyers and having a positive attitude. Who knows, maybe they’ll even want to do it again sometime.