There’s something about people gathered round a table. Friday night it was old friends and some new. People who live here, people who don’t. Listening to great music. Laughing. Catching up. Singing along. Hugs on the break. It was fuel for the day and the tables ahead of me.

Yesterday we said goodbye to a lovely woman. Her sister and her kids were funny and clear, lost and, oh, so very proud of their sister/mother. People sang. People wept. People laughed. People paid tribute. It’s what you’d want to know people would do for you. It’s what you want to do for people we love.

And then we sat around tables again. She was loved, this woman. People cooked because she cooked. Her brother in law, lives in California, comes from India, also cooks. He made potatoes in California, packed them in their suitcase and flew to be here. Fed us. Love people, said her bumper sticker, feed them tasty food.

Today is a day of reflection. My Sabbath. After church, I’ll gather at a table with new friends. A quiet opening, so needed after the big closings of the past two weeks. We’ll laugh, get to know one another a little. And later, my usual Sunday night date with a friend.

Gather ’round. It’s where community is born, ideas are conceived, stories are shared and laughter grows. Sometimes the seeds of Peace are sown there. And sometimes, if you’re very lucky, some wonderful people will have pulled together great music to listen to. La vida local: Here’s to living it. Oh, right, first, i’ll go brush the fluffy white stuff off my car.