Linda and I are experiencing some issues with our well water but a couple sets of friends have come to our rescue with invitations to shower and/or sleep over to help deal with the inconvenience of times without potable water. Both instances reminded me how valuable neighbors are in a time of need. And even small gestures can make a huge difference.
One of the couples even bequeathed us with several books they were culling from their collection and one of the titles was In the Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time by Peter Lovenheim. It is the compelling story of one man’s attempt to get to know his neighbors after a senseless tragedy in their ritzy neighborhood, namely by suggesting a sleepover in their McMansions.
As Lovenheim queries, “Why is it in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount airlines, and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?” The answer is that people are too busy keeping up with the Jones to actually get to know them beyond a superficial level.
But neighborliness used to trump busyness. “If the first foundation of New England’s strength and growth was godliness, its next was neighborliness…The neighborly helpfulness of the New England settlers extended from small to great matters, and entered into every department of town life,” writes Alice Morse Earle in Home Life in Colonial Days.
When we moved into the dream house we had built several years ago, different folks welcomed us to the neighborhood with baked goods and such. Yet over time the neighborhood deteriorated to the point that a nearby elderly man died alone without being discovered for several days. It was a stark reminder to look out for our neighbors, especially older ones without families.
Since moving around as frequently as we have after selling that home, Linda and I have reached out to neighbors at Christmastime with simple gifts as one response to the biblical admonition to “love your neighbor as yourself.” It has even prompted others to reciprocate with our fellow neighbors at times, which helped make it especially meaningful. As Mister Rogers used to intone: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”