More celebrations of Wednesday Nights: Dear Wednesday Nighters

I regret that I was unable to represent my dad Carl at the 1500th gathering. But I wanted to share these words of congratulations as you embark on the next 1500.

My father enjoyed debate and discussion. And he loved to teach. This was his main currency in life. Wednesday Night provided an ideal setting for all his passions to come together in one place with people he cared about.

The concept of a salon – while centuries old – couldn’t be more current. At a time when so much is made of social media, I find that the term comes up decidedly short in the “social” department. The challenges and opportunities facing our nation and world today can’t be meaningfully distilled into short tweets and sound bites. Yet people still try.

It is my view that individuals very soon will set aside notions of relations by keypad and mouse click and return to actual conversation and in-person engagement. After all, this is what we are put on earth for – to participate in actual human relations – however graceful or messy.

So everything old is new again. And at this mile marker I hope people gathered this evening realize that you are at once both old-fashioned – and the next big thing! My father would have been pleased to be in the thick of things with all of you.

Best wishes for the future.