I have a tendency to keep to myself so lots of times I might be the last to know what's going on in a neighborhood. I am a "hi and bye" neighbor. If i see one of the neighbors outside when I'm going somewhere, I'll be friendly and wave and smile. I don't actively seek out neighbors' company.
One older couple has made a few overtures and I'll take the time to talk to them. TB has more patience than I do. They're really nice and folksy but they tend to go on too much and stay too long. I start getting the fidgits. I think that's because I really prefer short visits, short conversations. Oh well.
Well, there is a house on the other side of Mr. & Mrs. Friendly Neighbor. It was empty for the longest time but now there is a family there ... a big one. Mr. FN told TB that the house is a sort of shelter, or low income housing... something like that. I think it's nice to know that some effort is made in communities to help people with limited income.
One day Kristin came home with a kid I'd never seen before. This kid rides the same bus as Kristin and the very first thing I noticed is that she talks like she's got the power of the Energizer Bunny ... she doesn't stop. She seems a nice, friendly girl but whoa! I can hardly follow her when she gets going.
I get the impression that she's lonely, maybe, because she has all these ideas about getting together and visiting us (Kristin) when she's older, on holidays, and on just about every occasion you can think of. Kristin was definitely taken aback by all that. I sort of felt sorry for the little girl. Maybe they've moved a lot and so she doesn't feel a strong connection with friends and neighbors. I advised Kristin to take a "sounds nice, let's see what happens" attitude toward her new friend's dreams of the future. My idea is ... why let the kid down all the time? I mean, I'm not saying make promises but hey, we don't know what's in our future.
TB and I met the mom the other day and she seemed pretty nice. She has five kids all together. There are two younger boys and younger girl twins. There is also a boyfriend. I don't know their circumstances but they are friendly, polite, and just seem like good neighbors. The boyfriend was out raking the yard the other day and the family seems to interact frequently with Mr & Mrs F.N.
Today, I got a phone call from the mom. I'd heard earlier on from the kids that she wasn't in great condition. She has a problem with her kidney. I'm not sure if the kidney is a transplant or if she has a condition. The oldest girl, Kristin's friend Clarissa, told me that her mom donated a kidney and it got infected.
Anyway, she sounded nervous and apologetic and said she had a "strange favor". She needed to borrow $10 to get gas for her car to get her to a hospital in Philadelphia. She needs tests done because her doctor feels that something is wrong with the kidney. I loaned the $10 and felt a little bad doing it. The reason I felt bad is because I wondered if she really needed gas or if this was just a story. I wondered if I would have this same feeling against another woman, like Mrs. F.N.
It's a terrible thing to skate the edges of disaster. I've been there and I remember how it felt to ask for help. I was very grateful but I remember the looks on the faces of people who helped. They were probably wondering if we were going to use the money for the things we needed. We did and I remember thinking that we did not screw things up for the next needy family that asked.
The church I used to attend in Maryland put a shelter in a room upstairs. There was a lot of NIMBY fighting going back and forth. I stood up one day and said most needy people were like me, honest, and that if the shelter idea was rejected then people like me wouldn't get help. When the vote came in, it was in favor of the shelter.
Some of the residents took advantage and I guess that's just to be expected. Most of the time, though, the shelter seemed to help people get back on their feet.
I'm hoping that the woman in the shelter house was on the up and up with me. I'm not sure I know why I suspect she might not be. I tend to have a positive view of people. I think it will be all right.
If you could do ANYTHING you wanted (let's say you had magical powers or something)...
1. What would be the first 3 things you'd do for other people?
I’d make sure everyone had a home and food to eat
I’d make sure everyone has health insurance
I’d make sure everyone got to go on a fun vacation once a year
2. What would be the first 3 things you'd do for yourself?
I would get rid of the extra weight
I would go on a luxury vacation with TB and the kids … they could have separate quarters!
I would remove the iron from our well so we could drink the water!
3. What would be the first 3 things you'd do to your enemies?
I would make sure they had the same stuff as everyone else. Maybe they would be happy and they’d stop making trouble.