Neighbors in the hood

I was truly aghast at the stories they told me. I’ve had neighbors in the past I haven’t been pleased with but my word, I felt for these people. It appeared that the couple on the North side of me felt the same way. This appeared to be a friendly, cozy neighborhood and it made me feel safe. I felt honored to have neighbors whom where so friendly and open. This really did feel like I had been transported back in time. A time when neighbors helped one another, had gettogethers, and lent a cup of sugar or a stick of butter at the drop of a hat.

We talked about the dead tree between our houses and I let them know I was going to phone around to have someone take it down. I felt it just wasn’t safe. November was coming fast and here in the lower mainland of Vancouver our November windstorms can be grizzly. It would be challenging to get that tree down. Paul Bunyan swinging his mighty axe to and fro would even find it a daunting task. The distance between their carport and my house was minimal and the tree sat smack dab in the middle. I imagined it would have to be taken down in chunks and lowered to the ground. My neighbors offered me a phone number, “Dan the tree man”. They suggested that because he had done work for them in the past he would be good for the job. The phone number would be forthcoming when they had a few moments to rummage it up.

We came full circle in conversation coming back to discussing the fort again. I told them that it was a bigger job than I thought. The metal roof was bolted down and I would need more tools. The husband, Brad, asked if he could come over and take a gander. I of course wouldn’t deny that. They were both so personable. A few moments later the around the corner they came bearing a sledgehammer, multiple wrenches and a large crowbar. To my disbelief Brad began ripping it down while “us women folk” stood back to cheer him on and to warn him of the impending dangers he seemed to just miss by way of nails and wobbly foundations. I felt guilty that he was doing all the work and I made a point of affirming that he didn’t have to do this. Did he need help? And wow, this isn’t taking you very long to take down. While Brad whacked the piece of junk to the ground I couldn’t help but think how lucky I was. This would have taken me forever to destroy and he, Superman in my eyes, had it leveled within a half hour. I was so grateful. But I couldn’t help but think they were also gratified,

1. To have the eyesore down, which by the way they could see from their yard
and
2. To now have a sane neighbor beside them.
It did cross my mind however, whether I was completely sane. I had just purchased a 1956 fix-it-upper to which I had no experience renovating. Damn, I didn’t even take down the 9 X 9 fort that now lay dead on my lawn.