Thursday, December 19, 2013   USN Current Issue  Tribal Culture
Single but not alone, these urbanites are redefining the
`adultescent' years  By Caroline Hsu Posted 10/5/03  Dawn
Trautman was in bad shape. Run ragged by studying for the GREs,
holding down a full-time job, and choreographing a high school
musical, she had a nasty case of pneumonia that would land her
in bed for over a month. But Trautman, 31, who was living alone
in a St. Paul, Minn., condo, didn't miss a single meal while she
was sick. Although her parents live nearby, it was her friends
who kept her nourished, bringing orange juice, making chicken
noodle soup, even feeding her in bed when she couldn't get up.
These aren't just friends--they're superfriends. Whether it's a
leaky faucet, a broken-down car, a cross-country move, or just
lunch, Trautman's group is there, blurring the line between
friendship and kinship with gestures large and small. The core
group--seven men and women all in their early 30s, including a
doctor, a few teachers,