Kansas City, Missouri

Tribe composition: The number is rather fluid. Sometimes there's only about 5 of us for an evening. Other times there are 20 to 30 if everyone is free at the same time. We're all white. The majority are only children or almost-onlys (>5 yrs. Diff. between siblings). Very few divorced parents.

Tribe activities: Football is a biggie. We almost always get together on Sunday to watch the KC Chiefs. In our younger days we would go to the park and play touch football. The girls of the group get together for a lot of home parties (Tupperware, pampered chef, party lite, etc.). Dinner and a movie is the most often repeated activity these days.

How the Tribe formed: It all started in high school. There was a group of guys who were kind of social outcasts. They weren't jocks or intellectual nerds. They were into role playing. Most mornings they hung out together in the library just talking and telling stories. As they got girlfriends the group expanded. They began to call the group "The Tribe." Many of us joined a club that had a once-a-year canoe trip which bonded us. We also played intramural touch football. Another good way to bond.

Things about the Tribe: As I mentioned above, most members of the group are only children. Those that have had kids have only had one, for the most part. There is one guy who is kind of the center of things. He keeps the party going. He's dated or married a lot of the girls in the group and somehow we manage to still be friends. That gives us something to bond over. We are fairly smart people with good jobs but very few graduated from college. All but a couple people are home owners and for the most part we've kept close to our roots--most still live in the same school district they grew up in.