Intuition and trust are not zero-sum traits; they are expanding blossoms. The more we exercise them, the deeper they root in our psyches, the greater they flower in our countenance. My rewarding experiences with so many people over the past year have swollen my trust in others. I hope I’ve enlarged their own trust in return. I am not naive or reckless, but time and again when I ‘assume best intent’ I am rewarded with genuine openness. Still, there are times when I push my own comfort envelope.

As I turned onto Woodridge Drive in Abilene, with its gentle curve, sumptuous trees, and expansive houses, it struck me as one of the most attractive residential streets in America. In the next moment I caught my breath – wait a second – I don’t even know my host’s name for the evening. Sure enough, my ‘host ‘ for the evening, Cara Hines, called to suggest I come to Abiliene instead of Anson to take part in the #downtownABI charrette. “Go by my mom’s house. You can shower there and she’ll bring you to the event. We’ll figure out where you’ll sleep later.”

I found the house and knocked on the door. I felt like a twelve year old when I greeted the blonde woman who opened the door the only way I knew: “Are you Cara’s mom?”

Laura Lee is used to taking in whomever Cara sends her way. Cara, a painter, interior designer, and gallery manager in her hometown of Abilene after living all over the world, has created a suite in her mother’s house for artists visiting this former railroad town that’s recreating itself as a center for art and culture.

Laura Lee gave me a tour of Abilene in her 1966 Mustang convertible. We met Cara downtown and went out for dinner after the charrette. Cara’s husband Ernie met us for a nightcap. We sat up in Laura Lee’s kitchen ‘til after midnight, by which time we had shared much more than our names.

How will we live tomorrow?

“I enjoy, since I retire, being available to help other people, such as older people who need a ride to the beauty shop of a doctor’s appointment. I want to continue to help people the best way I can.” – Laura Lee

“I go back and forth between my idealism and my realism. My wish in life is that people would live their lives as if it were for another person. If we did that, we could care for Syrian refugees, we could care for all children, we would see other’s perspectives.

“I have a slogan that I like; I’m thinking of putting it on my office wall. ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth having fun doing.’ Everything has opportunity in it, but if you want to find a better way, have fun doing it.” – Cara