Katz’s Deli, New York. Photo by peasap (http://www.flickr.com/people/peasap/).

This is the first part of a two-part series on the notion of “community.” I’ve come across a couple of examples in the last week so this topic is on my mind.

I listened to “The Other People” podcast with author Susan Straight, which made me think differently about “community.”

Straight, the author of Between Heaven and Here, talked mostly about her town of Riverside, California. I don’t know much about Riverside, only that it’s near Los Angeles. I will admit that as a lifelong Midwestern girl, I lump everything in southern California in with Los Angeles. And when I think of Los Angeles, I think of a migrant-type of population, people who have come from other parts of the country or world, chasing the glitz and glamour that L.A. promises.

Straight’s interview with Brad Listi was so enlightening because the…