Community

 

 

“We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race. ~ Cicero

 

Community exists everywhere. It’s not just the neighborhood or town or city where one lives, it’s the arrangement of desks at your workplace or school, the people you employee, the cafe you own. A sense of community is fundamental in the animal kingdom as well as in our human world.

 

Recently, I attended a ZDAYZ in Fontana NC, a cavalcade of Z Car enthusiasts from across the nation. The attraction at Fontana is not the spectacular scenery or Fontana Dam, the  tallest dam in the Eastern United States. The appeal is not the plethora of outdoor activities to choose from or the cool mountain air.

 

The attraction at ZDAYZ, the passion, the reason is Tail of the Dragon, an eleven mile stretch of road with a staggering 318 hairpin curves. It is a driving enthusiasts most ardent delight. Whether it’s navigated on two wheels or four, Tail of the Dragon is a driving experience like no other.

 

The sense of community this stretch of mountain road fosters  is evident. Hundreds of  participants signed up for ZDAYZ this year, each one with a performance vehicle and stories to tell to the Z community.

 

There were tales of rebuilds, engine swaps, horsepower chats, tech sessions, product reviews, and endless opportunities to connect with enthusiasts in a community of cars. There was a chance to have a thread of commonality with hundreds of people who loved Z Cars. Hundreds of possible conversations about an array of topics,  all leading back to cars and community, were to be had for simply opening your mouth and talking.

 

Community is everywhere. It only takes a word or two to discover astounding human beings who have stories to tell. It only takes a smile to open a conversation and reveal a friend.  Most of us tend to believe we are isolated from the world when each is an intricate part of the whole of a many communities.

 

Be brave today and talk to someone at a cafe, at your place of work, at school, at the market.  Community is built one smile and one conversation at a time.

 

 

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