among friends

Who is Howard Trachtman? This dude helped launch Boston’s noncrisis line.

What if there was a phone line where you could just call in and talk to someone about anything? Just for a chat, or because sometimes its easier and more fun to talk to someone new who you don’t already know. There’s something along those lines in Boston, where people having difficulties can now call in and talk to peers who’ve also been through tough times. It’s a non-crisis line that addresses more mundane, everyday issues that people face. People often complain about how impersonal the modern technological world is, but I think the anonymity that sometimes characterizes our lives will in fact prove to be a benefit toward the forming of friendships and connections between people. Now we’re able to connect to people regardless of who they are, where they are, or whether we know them or not. Anyway, just a thought. I’m not with the pessimists who see the modern world as totally decrepit, and getting worse; I think it’s just getting different.