[originaltext] To the best of my knowledge, all my aunts, uncles and grandpa

To the best of my knowledge, all my aunts, uncles and grandparents spent most of their lives within thirty miles of Troy, Pennsylvania. They were farmers, horse traders, merchants, and postmen. As a boy, I believe I knew everyone living within four miles of our farm.  And I guess Dad knew just about everyone in the country.  He enjoyed talking.  We met people at suppers on Saturday nights. Today a number of my relatives still live near Troy, but several of my cousins, my nieces, my brother and my sister are scattered in many states. The nearest relative to my home in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a niece who lives about a hundred and ten miles away.  My two sons live in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania; my mother-in-law, until her recent death, lived much of the time in Florida.  When my wife Virginia and I moved to New Canaan twenty-four years ago, it was a semi-rural town and I soon knew most of the people living within a mile of us.  In recent years almost all the old neighbors have moved and many dozens of new houses have sprung up near us. Today I wouldn’t even recognize half of the people living within five hundred yards of our house.  Virginia and I feel increasingly isolated.  Personal isolation is becoming a major social fact of our time.