‘help yourself, but please leave bowl. enjoy!’
another friendly neighbor’s offering
left on the steps to their house
discovered while out walking.
—
‘the people who give you their food, give you their heart.’
-cesar chavez
when out walking
it’s so nice to see my friendly neighbors waving hello.
makes me feel at home.
—
‘be nice. the world is a small town.’
-austin kleon
the kindhearted and quiet and hardworking kid
who comes and goes
without much of a pattern
asking if i’ll hire him
to shovel my snow and mow my lawn
now has a name – ‘max’
and his legend is growing and spreading
he came once when i wasn’t home
and my neighbor paid him to do my lawn
in return for the help i’d given her in the past
and the next time he was over mowing
max suddenly stopped his mower
because he found a baby squirrel
who had fallen from the nest in the tree
and was sitting motionless and scared
we tried to pick the squirrel up
but he feebly ran away
into my neighbor’s yard
who then came out to help
and we all took him to my other neighbor’s house
who loves the squirrels
and said that he didn’t look good
put him in his backyard and see if he would play
then brought him back
and laid him down below my tree
the squirrel soon passed away
and we buried him in the garden
and now, after meeting him
my other neighbor has given max a job as well
and as more and more
of his generous and hard-working sprit is revealed
his business and his reputation as a decent human being
both continue to grow.
—
“as much as we need a prosperous economy,
we also need a prosperity of kindness and decency.”
-caroline kennedy
the following was posted in the lost and found section of my neighborhood website:
‘Help me neighbors! I found young Marcus Wilson’s geometry notebook on the way to work around Revena. Anyone know him or his family? I hope his homework isn’t due today!’
—
“the worst thing a kid can say about homework is that it is too hard.
the worst thing a kid can say about a game is it’s too easy.”
-henry jenkins
—
image credit: calvin and hobbes – bill watterson
in much the same way
that he appeared out of the blue
in the midst of a very heavy snow season
to ask if i would hire him to shovel my driveway
and disappearing just as suddenly
only to appear again
last weekend
wheeling his mower down the sidewalk
and stopping by
to ask if i would hire him to mow my lawn
soon after my lawn mower refused to start
the quiet, polite, hardworking kid with no name is back
and gone again.
—
“everybody is a hero in their own story if you just look.”
-maeve binchy
—
image credit: pincor products vintage advertising
A Little Wild Spot. The ramshackle old house pictured above, unoccupied for two years at the time this photo was taken in 1966, was Anne Mueller’s “rough box.” After her death at the age of 85, her wildflower garden on the corner was deeded to the city for a park. The house now gone, Postman’s Rest Park, was named as a tribute to Norm Kern and Bob Schlupe, the mail carriers who stopped each day to see that “Annie” was all right when she was widowed and left without family in her later years. (ann arbor news, 1972)
1972 postman’s rest park
2017 postman’s rest park
during my visit to this tiny park
situated on a quiet and peaceful corner
in a tree-lined neighborhood
filled with old bungalows, gardens, and lawns
i sat in the swing for a while
taking it all in
looking around
at the greenery and wildflowers
there was a very special
warm and welcoming feeling
i wanted to know more about this lovely space
and was so pleasantly surprised
to discover its touching story
a pioneering newspaperwoman, ann mueller
left this beautiful space
where her wildflower garden had once bloomed
as a tribute to those who cared.
—
“take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”
-ovid
—
credits: news photo and caption – 1966 ann arbor news, jack stubbs – 1972 ann arbor news
1st annual neighborhood block party
nice for all of us to mix together
rather than just pass on the street
get to know each other a bit better
police, fire, and ice cream people
the holy trinity of community support
came by for a visit
raised money for toys for our neighborhood park
lots of people, lots of food, lots of fun.
—
“nothing makes you more tolerant of a neighbor’s noisy party than being there.”
-franklin p. jones
