Thankful Thursday

Yeah, that was actually yesterday.  But it was a bit late when I wrote this, so I'm posting it today.  I am thankful for some of my neighbors.  This is more of a starter-home and bedroom neighborhood for commuters and about half of them are renters who come and go every couple years, so it isn't real tight, but there seem to be several small individual groups of neighbors who are mutually helpful.  It seems to be completely by proximity.

I am the longest current resident on the street (1986 to present).  Not that it means I'm most-connected (I'm not) but it does mean I've seen everyone else move in and leave eventually.  Some obvious helpful friendships have developed and ended as people moved on.  But I've seen new ones form, too.

And I am part of 4 at my end of the street.  It changes slightly as people come and go, but I have been lucky to generally have good ones.  The Couple across the street are the center of the group right now.  The Wife works in "conflict resolution" online from home.  The Husband is an all-around mechanically/constructive "good guy".

She is always there with a hug, some words of peace, and a friendly outlook.  The Husband will help anyone do anything.  Just some examples...

1.  If a neighbor is going on vacation, they park one of their cars in the driveway to make it look like someone is at home.  Mow the lawn, and pick up the mail and newspapers.

2.  They are taking care of the Husband's grandchildren.  And have the neighbor's children over for playtime with them (lots of driveway chalk-drawing and outdoor games).

3.  The Wife helped me immensely when I fell off the extension ladder in Jan 2021.  Did some grocery-shopping, cleaned the cat litter boxes when I couldn't get down the stairs, and drove me to the doctor appointments until I could drive again.  Did some house-cleaning too (I couldn't stop her).

4.  The Husband helped me get my lawn mower running again (it was too long with old gas).  

5.  Invited me to their Friday Night Poker Party.  I'm not great at social events, and they played versions of poker I not only didn't know of, but couldn't even understand when they were explained.  I posted about that once, but mostly, there  were "shifting wild cards" weird down-card layouts and I just couldn't figure it out.

Games were called Bow-tie, 2&22, etc.  I'm old-fashioned.  I know 5 card draw, 7-stud, Hi/Low (aka Chicago, I think) and that's about it.  

Their whole basement is a rec room.  Aside from the poker table, they had a pool table, a dart board, a video arcade game (sadly broken at the time), and a massive snack table.

But, one of their friends had brought his 15-year old son.  He was bored to death!  So, since I was utterly confounded at the poker table. I started hitting some pool balls around.  He was interested by that.  Not that he knew how to play, but was curious.  And some attention and distraction was probably appreciated.

I tried to show him how to use a pool cue.  He had certainly never used one before.  But I had an advantage.  My paternal grandfather had a table in the basement, and I was fascinated by the realization that it was "mostly) geometry angles, so I played a lot there.  I'm not saying I'm good at it, but I understand various ways to hold a cue and how to aim at a round object.

So I showed him how to shoot.  He was wretched at it, but willing to learn.  He got better.  Not by a whole lot, but at least he didn't rip up the felt, LOL!  The first time he sank a ball, he was thrilled.  And so was I!

The Wife noticed, and left the Poker game to challenge me (friendly) to "solid or stripes" (with the teen as my cheering section).  I know Rotation, Eight-Ball, and Nine-Ball, but never heard of that one.  But it was utterly simple.  You choose one and the 1st person to pocket all "yours" wins.  

"WE" won.  The Wife and I by entertaining the teen, me because I sank all my solids while she had several left, and the teen because I gave him the last shot.  It was one of those positions he couldn't miss.    The last solid was an inch away from the pocket, the cue ball was directly next to it.  I helped him position the cue and said "just tap it".  He did and it went in.  YEAH!

The teen and I played darts after that.  Neither one of us were any good at it and we didn't know the actual rules.  So after a bit, I just took one of his darts, placed it in the bullseye and declared he won.  He liked that.  

6.  I was a Boy Scout "helpful, courteous and kind" etc.  So I help people and neighbors.  My original neighbor was an elderly lady.  When it snowed, I got up early and shoveled her driveway (as quietly as possible).  But she caught me at it one day and brought me a quart of her best soup later that day.  

BTW, 2 strange stories about her.  One time one of my cats (Tinkerbelle) went missing.  When the neighbor returned after vacation for a week, she opened her toolshed and Tinkerbelle came running out of it.  I was on my deck on the time, so I saw it happen.  It wasn't the neighbor at fault, and she realized what had happened and came over to apologize.  I was just happy to see Tinkerbelle again.

She moved away a few years later.  And we met in a store several years after that.  We talked for a while.

7.  A former policewoman lives on the corner lot.  Sometimes, when she sees several of us outside, she comes by and gives us advice on the latest scams, porch-piracy, and local crimes we should be aware of.  And the rest of us appreciate that.

8.  The newest side-neighbor is trying to be friendly, but there are language issues involved.  My decades-old high school Spanish classes are not up to the task and neither is their English.  But the Husband and I can get by with a little work.  

It is their first house.  I have helped him about lawn maintenance, trees, and shrubs.  He had a tree that was over-hanging my roof removed while I had a tree-removal company removing a dead tree and some unrecoverable shrubs on my property.  And I had the tree company grind down his tree roots that were making mowing my yard like "driving over railroad ties".

We aren't "the best of friends" but at peace.  And I make it a point to talk to both of them when possible.   If they stay for a while, things will improve.

9.  Not all neighbors are perfect.  There is a guy down the street who just loves to ride his motorcycle back and forth along the street early in the morning.  I don't love motorcycle noise.  And before him, there was a side-neighbor who used to drive his cycle to work.  He has the right to that.  But before 6 am, he would run it in his driveway 30 minutes while he washed and tuned it.

I went over one morning and asked if he "had to keep it running all the time".  He was surprised I didn't like the sound of  motorcycle!  Well, for me, 6 am is "the middle of the night".  He stopped for a week (just doing it in the garage) but his wife stopped him from that so he had to do it outside again.  Fortunately, they moved.  

10.  So I like my neighbors.  And we generally help each other.  

Sorry to go on for so long...