I found out this weekend that some long term neighbors are moving to the wilds of Maryland after 33 years of living on the block. A week before, I saw another neighbor with a known Realtor guy, who we knew was going to move, but just seeing that guy made it more real.
Our block is losing two good neighbors. They aren’t good neighbors because they are nice people, which they are. They are good neighbors because the old timers and the somewhat new-timer actively tried, with their own style, to make our block a better place. The old timers are a couple and I’ve mentioned Lem once or twice on the blog. In winter Lem gets his Bobcat and shovels the sidewalk after a big snow. He’s also been the neighborhood handyman for small things that come up. His wife and another long-time person (moved away now) greeted me when I first moved here, providing me with a welcome packet. The other neighbor has been active with animal/pet issues that have arisen and addressed the possibility of a hate group protesting outside of the mosque.
We’ve lost other good neighbors in the past too, who have left their imprint. They have been replaced by nice people who have yet to make their own mark. Sometimes it takes a while to figure how you can use your talents, connections, and knowledge to make the block a better place. But when they do, watch out, something wonderful happens.
This page contains a single entry by Mari published on May 9, 2016 10:46 PM.
12/24/2023 side note- Former neighbor Lem died November 23, 2023