By Ron Kokish
I recently read something in the Carbondale Facebook group that’s worth quoting. It’s what Eric Mitchell tries to convey to recent Carbondale arrivals.
“Welcome! Thanks for recognizing that this place is special. We think it’s special too. It wasn’t an accident. It feels the way it does to you, because we’ve prioritized connection to one another. We know each other. We support one another whenever possible. We grow opportunities for each other. And we’re fortunate to live in a place that has so many deeply knowledgeable, capable, inspiring individuals who have shared, given, volunteered and contributed in any way they can to get us to this point through every obstacle and challenge along the way. You’re here just in time to help us face our largest challenges yet. We sure do appreciate your help in facing the issues in front of us now, because they’re huge. Let’s get to work.”
Eric wasn’t available to orient me when I arrived 14 years ago, but I got the same message from a guy on a chairlift after I told him we just bought a house in Carbondale. “You must be an old hippie,” he commented. Yes!
Hippies idealized communal life and took care of each other. Mostly. The hippie story does include much mutual caring, but it also includes lots of assimilation. Jerry Rubin became a stockbroker, Tom Hayden, a California legislator. Abbe Hoffman stayed closer to his idealism; he committed suicide at 53. Like Rubin and Hadyen though, most of us joined the once-despised establishment as political liberals. Did we give up our ideals or did we evolve them in foreseeable but unforeseen directions? Are we hypocrites or pragmatists? Both, I guess.
As an assimilated hippy, I helped start the Carbondale Age-Friendly-Community Initiative (CAFCI) in 2019. The idea was to give older people a stronger voice in policy making (aka politics) while urging them to take on more responsibility (aka work). Like the hippies, we were a somewhat maverick group, and as with the hippies, things didn’t go exactly as planned.
We learned almost immediately that older adults’ needs are not necessarily unique. People in wheelchairs like a wide, flat entryway. So does anyone with a bike or stroller. Horizontal windows are easier for older folks to open and easier for 8-year-olds too. Older people say intra-urban public transport is important for them. So do teenagers. So, we expanded our focus from empowering older adults to finding common ground and empowering all residents. We changed our focus from age to aging because everyone is aging, and when we build a town that works for toddlers, it works for older people too.
Soon, CAFCI took on work that needed money so, naturally, we needed a bank account. Senior Matters — a 501(c)(3) corporation — helped us with fiscal sponsorships, but if we intended to do politically controversial work, a 501(c)(3) wouldn’t always cut it. So, we formed a 501(c)(4) corporation. We learned that unity matters, so Senior Matters and CAFCI now operate with a joint steering committee under a single umbrella: “Age-Friendly Carbondale” — All Ages, All Abilities, All Included.
Are corporations people? Can I be corporate and remain at least hippie-ish? And, why should you even care about this tale? That last question brings us back to Eric’s Facebook post. However long you’ve lived here, “You’re here just in time to help us face our largest challenges yet. We sure do appreciate your help … because they’re huge.”
Next, let’s look at the Carbondale Facebook group where Eric posted. Typical of Facebook groups, most of its 8,000 members are silent but it also has many vocal members who work hard to dent those huge problems. It has members who sell stuff and promote events, and members who post interesting things on non-controversial subjects: wildlife pics and funny things that happened on the way to the forum. Finally, the group has vocal members who complain about Carbondale woefully without taking responsibility for anything (i.e. they whine). In short, the Carbondale Facebook group is a cross-section of Carbondale.
One whiner recently declared Carbondale utterly ruined because all our trustees “are stupid.” When asked what he could do to improve the situation he said, “Nothing, it’s too late.” I guess he doesn’t plan on living here much longer. I, however, plan on dying here, I don’t think it’s too late, and I care about the people I’ll leave behind. I dislike the many storage units being built, but that hardly means everything is ruined.
Carbondale isn’t run by hippies (anymore?), but in its nuevo-corporate way, I believe it embodies my hippie values of mutual caring and peaceful coexistence. Change is inevitable, and CAFCI is my vehicle of choice for influencing that change. If you have a different vehicle, all is good. If you don’t have a vehicle and feel frustrated by how things are going, call us at 970-366-6460 or write to cafci@agefriendlycarbondale.org
Vehicle or not, please learn more at our renovated website, www.agefriendlycarbondale.org
Mature Content is a monthly feature from the Carbondale AARP Age-Friendly Community Initiative (CAFCI)