80 Percent of Life Is Still Showing Up

​I have been thinking lately about how easy it has become not to leave the house.

We have access to more movies, television, music, and information than at any point in our lives. I can watch almost any movie I want tonight without going anywhere. That's pretty remarkable. But having nearly everything available on demand makes me appreciate the things that are better when other people are there.

Years ago, Robert Putnam wrote Bowling Alone, looking at bowling leagues, civic clubs, and the organizations that put people in a room together. I have been thinking about that book again because a good portion of my job at the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce involves doing exactly that.

At our recent Business After Hours at First Financial Bank, more than 200 people showed up. Some came to make a business connection. Others were catching up with people they knew. Even more wanted to bask in the glow of IU Henke Hall and Indiana Football. Let's focus on the few who came because somebody invited them and figured they should get out of the office — and once they did, they had a pretty good time.

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Businesses join the Chamber for advocacy, visibility, networking and plenty of other reasons. But something else happens over time. You start seeing the same people at ribbon cuttings and events. Someone you met over a drink becomes someone you call with a question six months later. Eventually you know people you probably never would have encountered otherwise.

Taste of Bloomington gave me another reminder of that. I went downtown expecting to enjoy some food, hear some music and walk around for a while. I managed the food. I'm not sure I heard much of the music. I kept getting stopped — or stopping someone else — to talk with people I hadn't seen in a while. One conversation turned into another, and
suddenly quite a bit of the evening was gone.

I didn't mind. I enjoy people's company. Walking through downtown that night, surrounded by good food and a vibrant crowd, the conversations were as much a part of the evening as anything on the schedule.
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Then there was the recent Bloomington North–Bloomington South football game. I was there, along with what seemed like half of Bloomington. At one point I was standing behind the North visitor bleachers talking with a South assistant basketball coach about the upcoming season. South only returns two starters, and with my son now playing fifth-grade Junior Panthers basketball, I was interested. It was a football game, but somehow we ended up talking basketball.

Around us were students, families, teachers, coaches and plenty of people who haven't had a child in either school for years. Some cared deeply about the final score. Others were there because North-South is just a night people in Bloomington turn out for.

Strong schools matter for all the reasons we usually talk about — academics, workforce development, attracting families. But nights like that are part of it too. Schools give people a reason to come together long after the school day is over.

I see versions of it elsewhere, too. Rotary lunches. United Way meetings. Youth sports. You meet people, hear things you wouldn't otherwise hear, and usually laugh a little more than you would have sitting at home.
I'm not particularly interested in romanticizing the past. I like having a thousand movies available on my television. I like ordering something from my phone and having it appear at my house. The old days weren't necessarily better.

Join something. Go to the game. Stop by the event. Accept the invitation.

​Chances are you'll enjoy yourself. And the next time you walk through the door, somebody you know may already be there.

By: Christopher Emge, Sr. Director of Government and Community Relations 
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Disclaimer: This piece was written by Christopher Emge, Sr. Director of Government & Community Relations for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, with assistance from AI editing tools. While it is intended to represent the Chamber's broad advocacy priorities, it should not be interpreted as expressing a position on every aspect of the issue discussed. The article was edited with the assistance of artificial intelligence, with all analysis, opinions, and final editorial decisions made by the author. All population and tax data cited above comes from publicly available state and Indiana University sources.