people helping people

One of my Facebook friends posted an article entitled “Today’s Tech Oligarchs Are Worse Than the Robber Barons,” the premise being that the robber barons created good-paying jobs and the “tech oligarchs” of today are not. At least not beyond the scope of their own companies. There is some truth to that.

At the same time our online world and social media have been doing some good things. I have mentioned my friend Alison before. She has been a close and loyal friend since my post-college Claremont days in the mid-1970’s. I was present at the wedding in the Santa Cruz mountains when she married Glenn. When Terry and I got married here in Hemet in 1994 Alison was part of the wedding as Best Person. (Terry had a Man of Honor, some of you will recall.)

Glenn is a professional musician. He’s a dulcimer player and plays at places like Renaissance fairs in their various incarnations and the Dickens fair. He has developed quite a following, and built up a lot of goodwill. Making ends meet as a musician, however, can be difficult. Glenn and Alison found themselves at risk of losing their house. A friend set up a Go Fund Me page for Glenn with a goal of $4,000. In less than 48 hours the page received $4,200 in donations.

Crisis averted. People are good. People do care.