Growing up in the Washington D.C. suburbs, in a planned community of ‘Leave it to Beaver’ style homes, one facet I took for granted,was having neighbors watch out for you.
As a teenager, I sometimes found the neighbors a tad annoying because they seemed to report my comings and goings to my folks when it didn’t serve what I thought was my best interest.
Remember, I was just a kid. I am lucky they were concerned.
I won’t ever forget when my folks went to Germany for a vacation and I was busted for bringing a few of my friends over to the house. I was 13 or 14 and it was a fairly harmless get together but my sister and I were supposed to be staying with friends' families. Bright kids that we were, we left our bicycles in the driveway.
It was just a matter of time before our neighbor from across the street came to investigate. Party was over. Needless to say, my parents were not happy to hear that little report.
The Seabreezes, the Riggins and the Brennans were as much a part of my life growing up as my friends, teachers and schoolmates. There were gatherings of the neighbor’s families all the time.They were always watching out for each other.
I went off to the University of Maryland and dorm living was like having a bunch of people watching out for each other all the time for the most part. I was lucky in that I had a ton of friends. There was real concern for my well being and, ff course it, was reciprocated. In fact, I am in touch with quite a few even now and this was way before Facebook.
After graduating, moving into my own digs found me in a neighborhood similar to the one I was raised in, but I never knew my neighbors. I didn’t give it much thought and it wasn’t too long before I was living in a condo. Again, I didn’t get to know my neighbors and it didn’t seem strange. I was busy and usually out and about.
I moved around a fair amount in my early years and, before I got married, I only remember knowing some neighbors when I lived in a duplex in Annapolis. I lived there for two years and the friendly neighbors were gone after six months. The new neighbors were a bit of a horror story, so I steered clear.
Tina (my ex) and I moved a couple times, but we didn’t know our neighbors in any of the Maryland towns where we lived.
When I lived in Hawaii the first six months, Jim Nabors was my neighbor (I kid you not). Although the few times I talked to him, he was very friendly, we didn’t watch out for each other. People living in gated mansions tend not to, I guess. I was living in a mansion where I rented a room with four other people, otherwise I had no business living in this upscale neighborhood.
When I went to Taiwan, I didn’t speak Chinese. In the places I first lived, there was no real communication going on with the neighbors. Once I could speak some Mandarin, things didn’t really change as far as me knowing any of my neighbors. Maybe because I was a foreigner they steered clear, but I have to admit, I didn’t go to any doors introducing myself.
It was not until I moved to Noosa, Queensland, Australia did I get to know my neighbors. I lived in a condo complex of six units and it was partly because there was a pool in the back area of the complex where we would see each other.
My most vivid memory of them was when I was asked if my TV was working. I don’t remember now why the other five units didn’t have television, but I said sure. The next thing I know, I have a little over half dozen people in my small living room with beer, wine and snacks watching the Sydney gay Mardi Gras parade. None of my neighbors were gay, that I knew of. There was a young mixed white/aborigine couple, one woman I had gone out with a few times, another woman and two guys.
I can only equate it to watching a Macy’s Day Parade or the Rose Bowl Parade here in the USA, only it was celebrating gay culture. Apparently a million people attend this parade in Sydney and it is on national TV every year. I honestly remember thinking to myself, ‘This would never happen in America.’
When I bought my townhouse in Saratoga, my neighbors were friendly enough but I didn’t see much of them. I didn’t live in that place all that long, maybe a year, before I moved to my house in Hanna twenty-some years ago.
It was in Hanna I got my taste of a neighbor watching out for me. I was gone a lot overseas during the first 15 years living in Hanna.
The postmaster of Hanna during this time, Debbie Dancek, watched out for my house and did a lot of cool things for me. It was my first real instance of a neighbor (she lived across the street) looking out for me. My other neighbors and I talked when we saw each other, but it wasn’t like Debbie. I was sad to see her move away.
I bought the house next door and, for a period of time, I didn’t know who lived next to me. Again, I was gone a lot and I didn’t work in Carbon County when I was here.
Then a couple years ago, Linda and Perry Goodrich moved next door. I knew them from HART (Hanna Agricultural Resource Team) and they were always friendly. Little did I know how lucky I was to have them as neighbors.
This winter has been especially brutal with all the snow coming in every week, and I mean every week. Since Halloween, we have had snow each week, and many times for several days in a row. My driveway has seen snow as high as my waist.
Perry has a little (well not that little) compact utility loader he bought this past year and he has dug me out of almost every major snowstorm (which have been way more than I care to count) without me asking.
Linda has brought me over cookies she made because she knew I was a busy guy and she wanted me to relax and enjoy a treat.
I honestly can’t express how much their kindness has meant to me, especially my back and stomach. I can’t help remembering my neighbors from growing up, the friendly folks who lived in the complex in Noosa, my friend Debbie, and now the Goodriches as I understand how lucky to have them in my life.
All of their neighborly gestures have made me realize when you have a good neighbor, it shouldn’t be taken for granted. They should be treasured.
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