I am a very lucky person!

I do what I love for a living: meeting people, asking them questions and listening to their stories. I connect with people whom I would not even know without my job - veterans fighting for peace or explaining why they volunteer to go back to war, a homeless lady who lives in Hollywood in a beat up mini van with her dog, an ex-surf-world-champion who shows inner-city kids the ocean for the first time, a composer who works on a big feature movie score in his teeny-tiny room, young women who transform burdensome objects - like embarrassing sandals, obsolete mixed tapes and pianos - into art ... Los Angeles is full of stories. The world is full of stories. I LOVE to hear stories!

Researching new media and social networks for a German public radio program I understand the value of all these modern means of communication - almost. I have not figured out how to best use them for myself. I pledged to unplug after 6 p.m. and never use the internet on Sundays - a promise to myself I often do not keep.

What I DO know is that using these social networks I value personal connections more and more - like the afternoon my car mechanic started talking about his family. I was getting ready to pay when he mentioned his kids. I asked just one or two questions and he started talking about his parents. They came from Cuba to the U.S. forty years ago with four kids and one bag, no money. Nino was 14 years at that time. When they said Good bye to friends and family he knew he would never see them again. Voice and eyes of the now 56 year old father told more about this moment than his words. For some reason I was very happy I had stopped for a moment in a hectic day and listened to the person in front of me. It was way better than anything I could have read on twitter or facebook.

I dare you to to the same: unplug from your virtual networks for a few moments and listen to stories of people in your life! You might make the most wonderful connections!