Community

Ever think about what that word really means? It seems like some people get it and others don't; or, more likely, they just don't give a rat's ass. We are all part of communities, starting with the world community and working down from there. Each community can be broken down into a smaller one. Being in a community often creates an immediate bond, recognition, and respect among people. Communities are dependent upon location and situation. For example, two guys who meet and learn they are both civil servants, instantly bond as part of that community. That bond becomes even tighter when they learn they are both firemen. If they are both captains, or started the same year, or both lost a co-worker in a fire, that connection grows as the community they belong to becomes smaller and smaller; hence, tighter and tighter. When I'm in Illinois, I don't think about other Illinoisans. Yet, when I was in Yellowstone, my fellow statesman and I spoke to each other simply because we noticed each other's license plates. I quickly met some new people to keep in touch with who were also from Chicago; people I never would have spoken to if I had met them in Chicago. Interesting, eh?

In Yellowstone, everyone was part of a community. Whenever we pulled over to observe an animal, people would tell each other where they could see other animals. The community is created because everyone there wants to see animals. Often, if you saw some cars pulled over to look at a few Bison, you would pull over and tell the people, "Hey, there's a whole herd up the road, right along the shoulder." They would thank you and drive up the road for a better experience.

I detest it when people violate a community for their own perceived selfish gain. Or, when they fail to recognize the community and their role in it. I saw a gross example of this on my latest trip to Yellowstone. My mom and I came around a bend in the road and found ourselves looking smack at a wolf, not far off the shoulder. A van was pulled over and two obvious photographers--based on their equipment and hefty triopods--were standing on the shoulder, taking photos of it. We pulled over on the other side of the road and went to get some photos ourselves. I caught one photographer give us a look of disapproval. The wolf started to walk back further, seeking the sanctuary of tall grass. I heard one photographer say to the other, "Man, these are the best wolf shots I've ever gotten."

A car pulled up and slowed down. "What do you see?" asked the elderly driver--a common question among the Yellowstone community.

"Oh, just a coyote."

She nodded and her group drove on. Coyotes are a pretty common sight in the park and many people stop pulling over to observe them; wolves are rare and people always pull over to see them. The two most commonly asked questions rangers get--by far--are "Where can we see grizzlies?" and "Where can we see wolves?" This elderly group of people, perhaps on their only trip to the park and having their only opportunity to ever see a wolf, were deprived of it by an outright lie. It's almost like theft. Why did the photographer lie? A few cars pulled over leads to a lot of cars pulled over, often known as a "(animal)-jam," like a "wolf-jam" or "bear-jam." Such a jam typically scares wary animals away, such as wolves.

The photographers, who had already gotten great shots of the wolf, didn't want to share. They felt they had a special right to observe the wolf, take photos, and that a simple park visitor didn't have those rights. True, you could argue that the photographers were part of a tighter community than just the Yellowstone community; they were part of the professional photograhper community in Yellowstone. Perhaps; however, what is their role in the Yellowstone community? Who buys their photos, displayed on postcards, or their books of photographs? The woman in the car and her group. Why do they come to Yellowstone? To see the real thing these photographers' photos depict. If it wasn't for the Yellowstone visitor, the photographers and Yellowstone would be out of business. No doubt, the photographer violated the unwritten rules of the community. Had I acted quickly enough, I would have told the woman it was a wolf, although the photographer may have used his expert position to again lie in order refute my truthful claim.

Whatever communities you are part of, I hope you follow the rules of the community. You may go beyond the duties of them, if you wish, but at least hold the basic rules to heart; breaking them can ruin aspects of the community for everyone. As a comedian who other comedians have let crash at his place, I've let comics crash at mine; however, the last few stole some items, so now I will no longer do that. See how they have hurt the rest of the community? Alex, an acquaintance of a friend, left a key for me under his mat at a his place in L.A. without ever having met me. (He was in Vegas for a few days and let me crash at his place while he was gone, without ever having met me.) Alex is an actor looking to make a name for himself and I was coming out to L.A. for a week as a screenwriter looking to make a name for myself. That was our community; our bond. Often, actors, comedians, writers, and other artists will let each other in the community know of open gigs, bad gigs from which to stay away, agents who steal by taking too big a cut of the gig purse, and so forth. That is a responsibility in the community.

Whatever communities you are part of, remember to obey the rules of them, even if it might deprive you of something. Remember, the community is after the same thing you are after; that's what makes it a community. There may be times when you have to reach out to the community on a larger scale, to let them know of something or to warn them, so that they don't suffer the way you may have suffered, or to simply help them by shedding some light. If you choose not do so, that's fine, as it may be a big burden to carry and not wanting to do so is quite understandable; however, stop to think If someone had written about this or warned me, would I have benefited? Will others in the community benefit if I do so now myself? If so, hopefully you can find the strength to do so, or to allow someone else to do so for you. People often ask me why I wrote God; that's why. We are all part of the dating and relationship community. I felt I had some good stories and advice to share that could help out others in the community. Period. (Oh yeah, and I love to make people laugh, as you know.)

Communities. If you think about it, where would we be without them? Nowhere. And, if you think a little more, what creates all the problems in the world today, including crime? Simply a violation of a community's rule, unwritten or written. If we all keep our communities in mind all the time, the world would almost be a perfect place.