Date:         Thu, 23 Sep 2010 02:00:51 -0400
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Andrew Grebneff Memorial Fund - Final Status
In-Reply-To:  <AANLkTikeiP6bCgOjv747nAza-Uk7DmWTm6GJrHFXDpgf@mail.gmail.com>
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I wonder what exactly it is about this community, that we will all support
members whom we scarcely know when they need our help.  I mean, surely we
are all part of various communities, and in other contexts we wouldn't do
this.

I think in some ways it might actually be because mostly we only know each
other on the internet.  It can be awkward to give money directly to a
friend, or to go door to door to raise money from people you know
personally, for someone you know personally.  On the internet, though, it
seems easier.  Folks who really could use the help are willing to take cash
from a big group, knowing they are not indebted to one individual, and
knowing that it isn't going to create a reciprocal obligation the way it
might to someone they see every day.

Of course it's not just that - I think in some ways for many of us our vans
represent our dreams.  To get away, for a lot of us, to take off and be
independent (as mechanics, for some, or as travelers for others - both, for
some, I guess).  We share that with each other, and implicitly accept it in
each other in a way that people in our "real" lives might not.  So we care
for each other because we want to help each other continue to pursue those
dreams that we understand so well.

Some of our strongest support has come out for the spouses of people in the
community.  Maybe because we appreciate their willingness to live with -
should I say put up with? - the vanagon dream.  They were the background
letting the people we know be part of our community, so when we lose
someone, we're willing to help the people who made it possible for them to
be part of our world for a while.

We've supported people who were at risk of losing their vans, too.  I'm
thinking of one case in particular, a person who charms everyone she meets,
even though she's not on this list and certainly never helped anyone repair
a van.  We'd all lose if she weren't part of our community - maybe our help
is selfish, we don't want to lose her!

I wonder if there are other communities out there on the internet, people
who share a passion and a dream, who will come to each other's aid even when
they've mostly never met.  Certainly the other interest-based lists I've
been on (kayaking, bicycling, even for a while the very small contingent of
Jewish Quakers) weren't like this.

Hmm, here's a curious comparison.  I'm on a facebook page called
"Newfoundland" - at least 1000 followers, many Newfoundlanders, many
Newfoundlanders who live away, plus others who have friends there or have
visited.  You probably mostly don't know, but yesterday Newfoundland was hit
by hurricane Igor, which was the worst storm on record there, ever.  Luckily
only one death, a man swept out to sea when some paving washed out under
him, but massive devastation everywhere, lots of folks still without power,
and many people cut off by roads that have washed out.  The TransCanada is
cut off three hours west of St. John's, with a gap described as "20 meters
wide, 20 meters deep."  Serious mess.  Well, on that facebook page, everyone
is posting their best wishes, their love for each other, their conviction
that Newfoundlanders will get through this.  On the CBC radio this morning
the mayor of one of the worst-hit towns described the chaos - then said of
course everyone was going to pool their resources, their food, their fuel,
whatever they needed so they could all manage until the roads get repaired,
the power comes back on, there's a way to get in and out, and perhaps more
importantly there's a way for food and fuel and emergency supplies to get
in.

That seems a bit like the vanagon list to me.

Okay, enough middle-of-the-night rambling!




Joy


On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 10:38 PM, Jim Lieb <jlieberie@gmail.com> wrote:

> awesome... what a great group of people...I'm so glad to be a part of this
> community.
>
>
> --
> Jim in NW Pa
>
> "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's
> mouth and remove all doubt" (Abe Lincoln)
>
> Member: PVC Pittsburgh Vanagon Club
> 1987 Westy "MobyD" the Great White Westfalia
> Member: TLCA #15764
> 1982 FJ40
> 2007 FJ Cruiser
>