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Knowing neighbors is wiser than break-in
BEYOND MY CONTROL, BY CHRISTINE THOME
Knowing neighbors is wiser than break-in
Last week, one of my dear friends, who was the neighbor directly across from our home, moved to Atlanta. This week, our immediate next-door neighbors put a for-sale sign in their front yard.
If I had much of complex, I would worry that it was because of my loud and sometimes obnoxious family -- but it's not. One was the result of a divorce, the other the desire to downsize and be closer to grandchildren.
Both families were wonderful neighbors, and, although I was more familiar with my friend across the street because we have children the same age, my husband, John, and I shared many beers on our front and back porches with both of these neighbors and many more on our street.
Which leads me to believe that, if Harvard Professor Henry Gates had chosen to have a few beers with his neighbors over the years, instead of with President Barack Obama, he never would have become a household word this summer.
As you may remember, Professor Gates was arrested when a neighbor, who didn't recognize him, spotted him and a cab driver breaking into his own home and called the police. What ensued after was a fiasco that never should have happened. In my opinion, both Professor Gates and the Boston police thumped their chests a little too hard and exerted too much authority over such a minor incident.
When I get locked out of my house, I call one of several neighbors who have a spare key. I have keys to their homes; they have keys to mine. It's that simple. I know and trust my neighbors, and they know and trust me.
When I look at footage of Professor Gates' neighborhood, it reminds me a lot of the neighborhood we live in now. The houses are so close together that, if I sneeze when the windows are open in the summer, the next-door neighbor will yell, "Bless you!"
This same next-door neighbor called the police earlier this year when she saw several unmarked pickup trucks pull into our driveway when she knew we were out of town. Although we had informed her and her husband of the dates we would be gone, we neglected to tell them that painters would be arriving to paint some of the interior rooms.
When we returned from our trip, her husband was very apologetic about the entire event, but we put his fears to ease and thanked him profusely. We didn't vilify him and his wife like Professor Gates and the media did to the woman who called the police in that situation, because we are so thankful to have neighbors who look out for each other.
My feeling is that, if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. What if a thief was breaking into Professor Gates' house? What if someone was looting our home? Apologies can always be made later for any inconvenience, but, for these good neighbors, to do nothing was simply unacceptable.
Unfortunately, neighbors like these are becoming rare. Instead of talking over fences, we talk through Face Book. Instead of having Neighborhood Watch programs to keep our children and families safe, we choose to pull the blinds and install extra security systems. Instead of letting kids run at neighborhood block parties, kids today design their own virtual homes and neighbors on the computer. I have to admit, these virtual neighbors are a lot sexier looking than some of our neighbors, but they can't help me when I need a cup of sugar or the name of a good plumber.
I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else. We all get busy, and it's easy to rely on instant communication to get the news of the day. And neighborhoods today turn over rapidly with neighbors who must make career moves every few years. But if Professor Gates' incident has taught us anything, it's that we all need to get to know and recognize the people in our neighborhoods.
So the next time you want to know what's new in my life, don't text me. Stop over and talk to me.
And don't forget the beer.
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