Photo via aussiegall.

Lately, The Peanut and I have been perusing the addictive habit known as "Seed Catalogs." Unfortunately for her, I appear to have passed on the lust for flowers during winter gene...in spades. And so, we've been planning our potential trips to the greenhouse, and possible perennials for our sunny front yard, and some vegetables and herbs to plant in and among them for cooking fresh food this summer.

But, for the moment, the earth is lifeless and cold, and a bit muddy after a week of rain and snow and ice. And no hint of spring can be seen anywhere around us. But there is a promise of spring...and so, we plan for it. We wait, and while we wait, we plan the seeds we will plant.

Which leads me to a video that I'd love (YouTube) for everyone to watch. It's about a community plan to teach AIDS prevention in Zambia -- and it's amazingly uplifting in terms of what they have been able to do with very few resources, solely using the power of what interests these kids...and making information available through talking with each other about their lives and protecting that which is valuable to them -- their future.

It occurs to me that, as a society, we have devolved from the social creatures that we used to be in terms of having folks over to the house for a dinner, or attending group meetings on a regular basis, or heading down to "the club" for a drink, or the "knitting circle" or "bridge club" or whatever else it was that brought folks together to socialize outside their immediate family. And that has diminished our conversation considerably.

Then, along came the internet, which allows for conversations among like-minded folks, but doesn't exactly allow for a lot of cross-pollination between different belief systems because like tends to attract like in little clusters. Nor does it really allow for a human contact quality that you can truly only get from talking with someone face to face, to hear the urgency in someone's voice, to see what and issue or event means to them as they speak about it with passion or conviction.

So, here's my thought: well before we head into November, before the elections and the mudslinging get into full swing, before everyone divides into the blue camp and the red camp...what if we started trying to find a way to talk about the things that matter in person among others in our communities in a real sort of way. But how to do that? Ahhh...now, that is the question, isn't it? How to get out from behind our computers and do some things that put us in direct contact with others so that we are walking the walk of our firmly held beliefs and letting others know what we think is important in a personal and direct way. How to do that?

I know from all of the doors I knocked on during the 2004 campaign, all the face to face conversations that I had along with the cold calls I made as well...those personal chats meant more, made more of an impact, gave people more of a context for who I was and why I felt so urgently the way I did about certain things. And that made a difference here and there.

So, here's my question for everyone this morning: how do we start talking, really talking, to the people around us who don't already agree with us? How do we reach out to the folks who may not be thinking about politics at all and get them to care, to understand how much of an impact it has on their lives and those of their children? Is it too early -- is it impossible -- is it something folks think is a good idea? To make change, it can take a simple step forward and a conversation, one person at a time. But how -- and why -- that conversation gets started is important. And finding common ground can be rare indeed.

Now is the time to think about this, not later in the Fall toward the harvest...for the early planning yields the better crop, and this year? I'd like us all to reap an abundance of change and better government. One bee can bring in a little pollen and a bit of nectar, but a whole hive working together can produce something pretty sweet. What do you think? Pull up a chair...

PS -- A lot of you will remember TommyYum, who was instrumental in our fantastic "Have You Had Enough?" campaign tune and Blue America PAC commercials last campaign season. Many of you also know that Tommy's young son, Esten, was diagnosed with cancer, and has been battling it and many other issues ever since. Jacqrat did a great post yesterday at DWT on Esten's progress -- yay, he's in remission! -- and the family's subsequent fight with medical bills (ick!). And I thought folks would want a heads up and to maybe chip in a little if you have something to spare.

Time for the Blue America family to step up to the plate; pitch in again to help defray medical costs. We're asking you to donate through the FDL paypal button and please make all donations out to end in .04, since Esten is four years old and we want to keep track of which donations are going to the Maxwells.

Because family isn't just what you are born with, sometimes it's the family you make along the way...