Marnita, thank you for thanking me. Coming from you it means a lot. Yup, I looked you up. Is it okay to say WOW?

People like you — activists and organizers — have built a rich and satisfying Civic Life. As I read Medium, it is clear that most people do not have a civic life at all.

People with a civic life interact with people they would never meet in any other part of their lives. That’s why people with a civic life have such a diverse group of friends.

Our civic life is where we do the work of citizens. It’s the place where strangers come together to build all the little neighborhoods, towns and cities that build a country. In doing our civic work, we learn we are not alone. Everyone is just like us — a one of a kind, unique and special person.

One of my fondest memories is of a woman in her sixties. She’d led a hard life, and her daughter was in prison (for making meth) and she was raising her grandchild. She told us she had never been involved in her children’s schools and wanted to do better for her grandchild. All she needed was some support. This grandmother had already found her place. In the back of the cafeteria storeroom, she’d spotted a very old popcorn machine. She’d pulled it out, then fixed and cleaned it until it shined like new.

For the next six years, this grandmother staffed that popcorn machine every day at lunchtime, during every school event and after school to teachers and staff. Her bags of popcorn paid for all new playground equipment, library books and computers and classroom art supplies.

During her sixth grade graduation ceremony, her granddaughter presented her grandmother with the the “Grandparent of the “Decade Award” and the audience gave her a standing ovation.

Today, her granddaughter is a lawyer — and a mother of three children. The popcorn lady is gone, but her story lives on.