MEALS: A welcomed distraction from COVID Isolation
I have known David for 40 years. He is a remarkable soul. I typically show up when he says he would like me to attend something. MEALS was an unexpected distraction, but it included breakfast at one of my preferred go-to places—The Buttermilk Café. We would meet in the back room, which is not dissimilar to many eateries—a private gathering space.
MEALS – Buttermilk, March 2025
Enduring COVID, may or may not have a lot of “medical” side effects but it certainly has had intrinsic effects on one’s mental health. Two gents, the founders of MEALS, thought that men, specifically, were sitting in isolation, struggling with disconnection. I, for one, a retired guy, felt this was a somewhat novel idea. I wasn’t in denial of feeling disconnected. After all, I do get out and mix and work and visit and photograph ‘out there’, but what intrigued me was the group's name – Men Eating And Learning Stuff. Eating and Learning, now that’s a welcome concept.
So off I went to a first meeting. A room with about 7 gents – some who I knew and the others would become known. We all introduced ourselves gave a brief overview of our life or career or interests. We ate, we shared stories and left. The importance of this meeting took a while to take hold and frankly, a followup meeting.
This next gathering added a few more souls including the addition of one of my friends who I felt might benefit from this audience. The mix is noteworthy. We have artists, writers, photographers, actors, academics, sales and marketing people, sound people, farmers and more. The scope of backgrounds allows for some diverse conversation and now, presentations.
I look forward to this monthly group meeting. Almost everyone is a writer, a photographer, an artist, and a DIY practitioner in assorted phases of destruction/construction, and oddly, most of them are Davids or Marcs. Today, almost two years in, we have broken a threshold of nearly two dozen souls. We are confined for just over an hour, relating, sharing, and eating.
I assume everyone emerges from these sessions bringing something with them. For me, it’s gratitude. These are a collection of all walks, sharing and commiserating gents. We all have the directions we follow and tasks we fill our days with, but for this short time, there is a palpable respect for one another’s journey. It is refreshing, a lack of divineness and for me, motivation and inspiration, not with anything in particular but a camaraderie that, by example, allows one to feel togetherness. Struggles are addressed and shared, if only by story, allowing one to garner strength and face their respective realities.
There is comfort in MEALS. There certainly is comfort in sharing breakfast, smiling, laughing, listening to music, and finding that spark of inspiration that quietly informs you that you are not alone. You can share your struggle and your accomplishment. Oddly, it’s a ‘safe-space’ that no one knows we may have needed.
If you know a few friends, start your own MEALS for Men or MEALS for women and start inviting people from diverse backgrounds. Our tapestry is only just beginning, and it’s starting to look pretty good.
Thank you, David.
