According to Wikipedia: Swarm describes a behaviour of an aggregate of animals of similar size and body orientation, generally moving en mass in the same direction. The term can be applied to fish, insects, birds, various microorganisms such as bacteria, and people.
Dee Effers refers to a swarm of friends that formed a strong bond and community in the 1960s and early '70s. The social unit was initially based in a suburban town in New York State colloquially referred to by its residents as "DF" (the abbreviation of Dobbs Ferry). After graduating from DF Public High School, members of the Dee Effers systematically dispersed across the globe, making their mark on global politics, contemporary art, literature, drama, music, science, and technology. They infiltrated the highest ranks of society, and established a silent but global presence. The highly-decentralized organization maintains contact via email and social-media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and to a lesser degree, blogs and Twitter.
While their powerful organization is not known to the general public, the Dee Effers convene regularly in regional subgroups of the face-to-face space to periodically discuss the state of the world, its culture, and politics.
While most of the earth's population was distracted by the high-profile international G-8 Summit meeting Italy, on Saturday July 11th a secret enclave of the New England Chapter of the Dee Effers was called to order to discuss and find solutions to the formative social, cultural, economic, and ecological issues facing humanity.
Here is a very rare photo of regional Principals of this secret organization. From left to right: Corky, Jim, Susan, and Kim. Their last names are being withheld to protect their true identity.
The secluded venue for the semi-annual meeting was the beautiful home of Kim and his wife Susannah in Concord MA. Their contemporary house is located in a quiet community embedded in a natural enclave that feels and looks like Vermont, even though it's not far from Boston proper. Kim and Susannah were joined by their two teenage children (Ellissa and Cray). Their huge friendly dog Haley kept watch over the surroundings. Susan came with her husband Tom, Corky with Kathy, and Jim with Willemien were accompanied by their 17 year-old son Joseph.
Joseph and Cray, both into baseball, spent some of the time playing catch in the back yard.
Soon after arrival, we took a short stroll over to the private pond nearby....
From those who took a swim, the report was that the water was fresh and surprisingly warm for New England. This particular pond was once a cranberry bog with seven fresh-water springs feeding it. It's also a secluded fishing hole, and a gathering place for neighbors in the community.
Back at the house we continued the conversations in the kitchen and began snacking on hors d'oeuvres and sipping on wine.
The action moved out to the outside deck, where the summer weather was idyllic and the food was scrumptious. Special mention should be made of Kim's superb gazpacho soup, Cathy's salad, and Susan's tart yet sweet nectarine pie - although everything on the table was delicious. After it got dark, we moved inside again to feast on Susan's pie and vanilla ice cream.
I can not reveal the specific content of the Dee Effers conversation, since it is highly confidential, but I can say that it covered 40 years of history and a lot of good laughs. What struck me about the discourse was the interesting perspective we shared from our unique but individual experiences of world developments. The meetings of the group have impressively evolved from a nostalgic waxing of 1970s redux, to the discourse of a real-time interactive community that proactively thinks about and reacts to important ideas and issues of the present.
It was a very productive meeting of the minds, and I think that even the associate members of the group (spouses and children) felt the good vibes that emanated from the Dee Effers discourse.
