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I've been falling down on the job.

Not the "job" job. The other one. Making time for people, over things.

This is clear when I call my brother for Veterans Day and he sounds surprised. It's clear when I pick up my son at dusk, which these days falls too early, and he wonders if we can put on our baseball gloves and play catch.

"Do you think we have time?" he asks carefully, braced for the answer.

But the correct answer is that we have nothing but time. The only question is how we choose to spend it.

I was reminded of that recently with word of a new social club whose members meet at pubs across town every week or so for "Drink & Draw," modeled after a club founded by a group of cartoonists in L.A.

In the Greensboro chapter, they actually don't drink that much - in some cases, the more starving artists among them stick to that exotic mixer we call "water" - but the point is to create art in a relaxed scene.

These designs are then printed on T-shirts and coffee mugs to raise money for charities that sponsor Exhibit A has adopted, including Bald Eagle for breast cancer survivors and the Glenwood-based bicycle coop, BikeMe!

So it was on an otherwise slow Thursday before Halloween, when the club met at The Blind Tiger and drew a surprisingly good crowd for some friendly artistic challenges, competing for gift certificates donated by businesses.

First, founder Mike Pope assigns a theme. It might be "Earn your wings," "blue, white and red" for the electoral map, or designing a welcome mat to greet Barack Obama at the White House. There was also the popular George Carlin tribute, when the artists drew to his famous line:

"There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the moon howls."

For Pope, this is Exhibit A's way of getting art into the community.

"Greensboro in particular has not embraced the artistic community, and until it does, it will never be a world-class city," he said. "The creative types are what make a place fun and vibrant."

In an age when Facebook passes for community, and people hide behind screen names just to have a conversation, the club is a notable social departure, an urban version of sitting around the campfire.

Members usually meet Sunday nights - for Maura Hollum, a good way to start the week.

"You're starting it out with friends. It keeps me focused and involved," said Hollum, an artist who is out of work. "When my wallet's empty, I've got good friends around me."

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com