IT’S PROBABLY JUST MY OWN LAZINESS.

That’s what it is.  Just pure and simple laziness.   But in the dog days of summer, I much prefer slipping into a good mystery rather than struggling with a deeper, more thoughtful book.

Happily, I can often find thought-provoking sentences buried in my murder mysteries.  This short one caught my eye recently: “New York City is a roiling, constantly self-inventive beast.”

My first thought:  Wow!  Now that’s a great reason to stay away from New York City.

My second thought:  That “self-inventing” thing has legs.  Any town that doesn’t constantly grow, re-create, and re-invent itself according to its changing needs is not my kind of town.

It reminded me of a young woman, Lela Klein, who was one of a dedicated group of people responsible for creating the Gem City Market in Dayton, Ohio.  This is no ordinary grocery store.  It’s a cooperative market, critically and intentionally placed between two very diverse neighborhoods, neither with easy access to good, fresh food.  Until now.

Lela, through no desire on her part, became the public face of the market.  She’s the first to say it was a group effort and succeeded only by virtue of that.

As background, Lela is Julia Reichert’s daughter.  Julia, filmmaker and Oscar winner, died two years ago.  During the years that I knew Julia, Lela earned a law degree from Harvard and raised a family.  Later, she lovingly and caringly devoted herself to her mother, who led an impossibly full life with the cancer that eventually took her life.

We need, and must rely on, our young people to spot the holes, the needs, the gaps in our communities.  And to fill them with their energies, their thoughts, and their passions.  To ask questions and invent potential solutions.  They’ll not all be home-runs but thoughtful, fresh starting points are always a huge step in the right direction.

Image:  Community-owners of Gem City Market celebrate at the Ceremonial Community Groundbreaking and Block Party in September of 2019. (Photo: Jan Underwood)