Chapter 19: On the Street Where You Live
You may live on a street with a pretty name like Morning Glory Drive or on a numbered street like 2700 East. Houses line the street where you live, and to one of them you have the key and call it home. Wherever home is, the people who live in nearby homes are your neighbors.
A serious illness came to a long-time neighbor who lived on Evergreen Avenue. Symptom after symptom debilitated this once vibrant man until a walker, then a wheelchair, had to be lifted in and out of the car every time he went anywhere. The caregiver had suffered a broken back a few years previously, which made all the lifting even more difficult. As the nearby neighbors watched, they seemed to appear at just the right moments to take an arm, lift a wheelchair, or carry groceries into the house. The caregiver commenting on all the help they were receiving said: “I think the Lord lives on Evergreen Avenue, directing others to help us.”
A young mother was out for a run on Frontage Road by a high school when she saw one of her neighbors walking. His eighty-year-old body seemed wobbly and he was two miles from home. The young mother stopped and chatted with him and found out that his car had broken down. He didn’t know what else to do but walk home. Fortunately, the young mother had her cellphone. She called one of his neighbors to come get him and stayed with him until help arrived.
One September afternoon an eleven-year-old boy was walking home from jumping on a neighbor’s trampoline. As he turned the corner, he smelled smoke and noticed a lot of smoke coming from the neighbor’s house. At first he thought they were barbecuing, but then he realized the house was on fire. He rushed home, told his mother who called 911. There was a lot of damage but less than there might have been without his quick actions.
One morning I was out for my morning walk in ta neighboring neighborhood. It was my birthday. A neighbor I didn’t know was out near the road repairing his gate. As I walked by he stood at attention, tipped his cap, and said, “Top of the morning to you.” I felt celebrated.
Neighbors who walk by a home on the east side of 2700 East or on Gregson Avenue can stop to get a drink of water. The owners of these two homes have installed drinking fountains near the sidewalk—one for humans and one for four-legged creatures as well.
A neighbor who lives alone came home from work to find her house trashed and valuables missing. She called the police and a couple of nearby neighbors. After the police left she felt violated, frightened, and alone. Two of her female neighbors soon knocked at her door with dinner and a movie. They also slept at her home that night.
Neighbors notice garbage cans that need bringing in and watch for suspicious activity on the street where they live. Neighbors shovel each other’s snowy walks and driveways. Some neighbors decorate for holidays with flair, as a gift to all who pass by, making the neighborhood festive. Neighbors keep their lawns and gardens looking as good as they can. Neighbors watch for their very young and very old neighbors and drive slowly on residential streets.
Neighbors help with food drives. When neighbors move out or in, neighbors help. When an egg or a cup of sugar is needed, neighbors share.
This caring and sharing comes in the form of food, flowers, gifts, phone calls, e-mails, cards, running errands, giving rides, tending children, praying for each other, remembering details of each other’s lives, being friendly, and giving physical labor. It is wonderful to live in a neighborly neighborhood!
Neighbors celebrate each other’s happy times such as milestone birthdays, baptisms, mission calls, graduations, and marriages. They attend showers for new babies and brides-to-be, farewells, homecomings, and wedding receptions.
Neighbors serve each other during trying times such as difficult pregnancies, premature births, hospitalizations, broken bones, accidents, divorce, unemployment, break-ins, Alzheimer’s, cancer, kidney failure, and heart attacks.
When death takes a neighbor, supportive and loving service comforts and eases the pain. Neighbors don’t say, “Call me if you need anything.” They see a need and fill it the best way they can.
Neighbors have short memories of any annoyances and long memories of the good. Perhaps there aren’t a lot of good neighbors on the street where you live, but you can be one of them.
(c) Marilynne Todd Linford, 2018
A serious illness came to a long-time neighbor who lived on Evergreen Avenue. Symptom after symptom debilitated this once vibrant man until a walker, then a wheelchair, had to be lifted in and out of the car every time he went anywhere. The caregiver had suffered a broken back a few years previously, which made all the lifting even more difficult. As the nearby neighbors watched, they seemed to appear at just the right moments to take an arm, lift a wheelchair, or carry groceries into the house. The caregiver commenting on all the help they were receiving said: “I think the Lord lives on Evergreen Avenue, directing others to help us.”
A young mother was out for a run on Frontage Road by a high school when she saw one of her neighbors walking. His eighty-year-old body seemed wobbly and he was two miles from home. The young mother stopped and chatted with him and found out that his car had broken down. He didn’t know what else to do but walk home. Fortunately, the young mother had her cellphone. She called one of his neighbors to come get him and stayed with him until help arrived.
One September afternoon an eleven-year-old boy was walking home from jumping on a neighbor’s trampoline. As he turned the corner, he smelled smoke and noticed a lot of smoke coming from the neighbor’s house. At first he thought they were barbecuing, but then he realized the house was on fire. He rushed home, told his mother who called 911. There was a lot of damage but less than there might have been without his quick actions.
One morning I was out for my morning walk in ta neighboring neighborhood. It was my birthday. A neighbor I didn’t know was out near the road repairing his gate. As I walked by he stood at attention, tipped his cap, and said, “Top of the morning to you.” I felt celebrated.
Neighbors who walk by a home on the east side of 2700 East or on Gregson Avenue can stop to get a drink of water. The owners of these two homes have installed drinking fountains near the sidewalk—one for humans and one for four-legged creatures as well.
A neighbor who lives alone came home from work to find her house trashed and valuables missing. She called the police and a couple of nearby neighbors. After the police left she felt violated, frightened, and alone. Two of her female neighbors soon knocked at her door with dinner and a movie. They also slept at her home that night.
Neighbors notice garbage cans that need bringing in and watch for suspicious activity on the street where they live. Neighbors shovel each other’s snowy walks and driveways. Some neighbors decorate for holidays with flair, as a gift to all who pass by, making the neighborhood festive. Neighbors keep their lawns and gardens looking as good as they can. Neighbors watch for their very young and very old neighbors and drive slowly on residential streets.
Neighbors help with food drives. When neighbors move out or in, neighbors help. When an egg or a cup of sugar is needed, neighbors share.
This caring and sharing comes in the form of food, flowers, gifts, phone calls, e-mails, cards, running errands, giving rides, tending children, praying for each other, remembering details of each other’s lives, being friendly, and giving physical labor. It is wonderful to live in a neighborly neighborhood!
Neighbors celebrate each other’s happy times such as milestone birthdays, baptisms, mission calls, graduations, and marriages. They attend showers for new babies and brides-to-be, farewells, homecomings, and wedding receptions.
Neighbors serve each other during trying times such as difficult pregnancies, premature births, hospitalizations, broken bones, accidents, divorce, unemployment, break-ins, Alzheimer’s, cancer, kidney failure, and heart attacks.
When death takes a neighbor, supportive and loving service comforts and eases the pain. Neighbors don’t say, “Call me if you need anything.” They see a need and fill it the best way they can.
Neighbors have short memories of any annoyances and long memories of the good. Perhaps there aren’t a lot of good neighbors on the street where you live, but you can be one of them.
(c) Marilynne Todd Linford, 2018
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