e.m. forster was correct

I spent last friday afternoon at the library at uw-river falls, reading newspapers and doing crosswords--I love to think of someone reading the nytimes or the chronicle of higher education and coming across a puzzle I've penned out and marveling that someone takes the time in these days to do crosswords in public papers, and without benefit of google--and while there I flipped idly through a graphic novel I'd heard of called daytripper, an interesting take on possibilities in an individual's life. I came across a bit of dialogue something like this: 1 character is speaking to another via longdistance call, "well, I have the money and the great job and the girls but I feel like I'm not really having an effect on anyone, like I'm not really enhancing anyone's life." (my approximation) and I didn't have anything like an epiphany, cuz I've known this for quite some time, but it left me reflecting on how my life, especially the past couple decades, has led me to recognize that while I don't have any of the external things (although I did have the great job until recently--que sera sera) I have had tremendous impact on other people. students have not been shy about the impact I've made on their lives, and I was surprised recently when someone reappeared in my life after nearly 30 years and the 1st thing she relayed was how appreciative she'd always been for a kindness I'd genuinely forgotten about. e.m. forster, it seems, was correct: what we need do is "only connect."