Finding Human Connection in a Digital Community

It’s really easy to stay hidden behind your computer. You can stay anonymous. You never really have to know who’s typing away on the other end of the vaporous Wi-Fi connection. You don’t have to make yourself vulnerable.

That’s why Ellin Wheelihan surprised me so much when she invited me over for coffee and biscotti.

Ellin, like many of you, took issue with a post entitled “,” which highlighted a website of the same name that outlined Census data on a map. “Rich, Poor Blocks” is a crude way to define income distribution, but those are the words the website used and so those are the words Patch used.

“Lauren,” Ellin wrote. “I don't think you understand what the word ‘poor’ means.” Relationships, not income, define true wealth, she wrote.

And she is so right.

Ellin graciously accepted my apology for the unintended slight and demonstrated she truly meant what she wrote by inviting me into her home.

I spent an hour and a half with Ellin Thursday. She greeted me with a hug and, as promised, a plate of her homemade biscotti.

But even better, I learned the story behind the biscotti—how she honed her recipe during three trips to Italy with a dear friend. Ellin shared countless stories during my visit, of the neighbor with a gentle giant of a Newfoundland dog, the friend who’s organizing a fundraiser for a fellow firefighter in need and the very personal family bonds that have made her who she is. Many of these stories you’ll read in upcoming weeks on Patch.

Human connection is something I hope Patch can facilitate for each of you, the way it did for Ellin and me. You may read about something in this digital medium, but I hope that then inspires you to do something positive in the physical world. Help your neighbors when you learn they are distressed. Speak to your community leaders when you have questions. Choose to teach with kindness.

And it doesn’t hurt to bond over homemade biscotti.

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Read more about Ellin and her husband Jack in the story,

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