For folks above a certain age, everybody knows your name in a bar called CHEERS.
We all seek a place to get away, where you get a break, where troubles and people are all the same. A place where they’re always glad you came.
The characters at CHEERS didn’t simply fit in…they were part of the bar’s story. CHEERS was their place to belong.
Belonging is a basic human need. If it’s unmet, people will do and endure almost anything in a desperate scramble to be part of something. Whether it’s family, church, street gang, or bar, we all need a place where everybody knows our name.
More than anything else, I hope the FREEDOM TOUR is a place for folks to belong. Of course we ride bikes and wear team shirts and do all that stuff, and I’m pleased that we’re able to support the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. That’s good, important work and we need to do it well.
But it’s all sort of empty if we’re not first a supportive community, a place where people feel welcome and safe. A place where it’s okay to be who you are, to drop the facades and to be known.
Some folks find that sense of belonging immediately, others hang out a while first. Our job is to be consistent. Just like CHEERS, we try to open the doors each day with the promise that there’s a special place for everyone. We offer the opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself.
And we always try to know your name.
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If you’ve never heard the complete CHEERS theme song, take a couple of minutes to listen. I’ll bet you’ll smile!
Can’t see the video? Click here.