Chapter One: I Grew Up Before the Internet

I was born in 1982 — back when you figured things out because you had to.

I grew up riding my bike until the streetlights came on. Friday nights meant Blockbuster. Small businesses were the backbone of the community.

You didn’t Google answers.

You knocked on a neighbor’s door.

You asked someone older.
You figured it out.

There was less technology.
But there was more connection.

Then everything changed.

The internet came. Email. Chat rooms. Online shopping. Information moved faster. Businesses could reach more people.

And in many ways, that was good.

But something shifted.

Small businesses started disappearing. Convenience replaced conversation. Big brands scaled. Local shops closed.

Scale doesn’t always protect the small.

That’s when I realized something:

If we want community back,
we have to build it.