I found the secret to The Villages and what makes it so great.  I recently was reading a book about retirement, and what makes for a happy retirement, etc. etc. etc.  All of a sudden the phrase No Automatic Relationship Generator jumped out at me and it made me really think.  For some people retirement comes very easily and when they leave their jobs for the last time they never look back.  I always admired people that could do that.  I, on the other hand, retired, went back to work, retired again, and went back to work again and then I retired again, determined to work at it and threw myself into activities.  I felt a little like an odd duck because I could not just sit back and relax.  Many people would see me after I retired and when they asked how I was doing I would say…having no stress is very stressful to me…and I wasn’t kidding.  In every other phase of our lives there has been an Automatic Relationship Generator…in the world of education we belonged to groups and teams, we developed great friendships, but when that was over we moved on to the world of work, where we lost touch with many friends but developed new friendships, ones with like interests and skills.  The world of parenting automatically generated another social group: neighborhood, sports teams, school events and so on.  Again when you’re thrown together into similar circumstances, it connects you with other people with like interests, conveniently. I never thought of our six month old rambunctious lab mix named Harry as an Automatic Relationship Generator but that is exactly what he was.  We had just moved into our new home with our 2 year old son and his 4 mo. old brother and Harry.   I was extremely caught up with trying to be the best parent I knew, but on the other hand felt very alone in my new neighborhood.  I knew no one until one eventful morning.  I took Harry out and he got away from me.  I called and ran after him but he payed no attention, he was on a mission.  His mission was to go to the bus stop at the top of the hill and cavort with the children.  By the time I gathered my sons and got to the bus stop, Harry decided he would like to continue his fun and hopped on the school bus and ran directly to the back of the bus.  He was going to school and no one was going to stop him.  The children all had fun, the parents that were with their children at the bus stop took my sons, I wrestled Harry off the bus and from that day forward I have always credited him with my introduction to my neighbors.  I made many friendships that morning and was never lonely again.  When children grow and leave many of us go back to work with a new set of friends but when you retire there are no automatic relationship generators.  Had we not moved to The Villages, I don’t know what I would have been doing all the time.  You can have lunch and dinner with friends, but at some point you have to bring something to the table.  Something that sparks your interest or gives rise to a long buried passion.  That is what The Villages  is an automatic relationship builder. Through a like interest…whether it be sports, cards, discussion groups, art of all mediums or classic cars, harley davidsons, convertible club, etc., we all come together, from all over the country, to share likes and interests, and that is why neighbors and residents all say how happy they are living here. We have come here and automatically generated new relationships, just as Harry had done for me many years ago