The New Art of Making Friends and Finding Community [yesmagazine.org]
As I wait for my first guest, I wonder what sort of characters would sign up for this. “This” is LokPal—a local cooking workshop, premised on strangers “sharing a meal and sharing a bond.” Then Abby arrives, wearing cherry-red lipstick as bright as her smile. As I hand over her name tag and prepare to ask the usual barrage of small-talk questions, Abby makes the first move, deftly breaking the ice with tales of her kindergarten classroom. [For more on this story by Julia Hotz, go to...