Neighbors and Friends

My Mom and Dad raised seven children in a little house at the bottom of a little dirt road called Hemphhill.

We had a vast array of neighbors back then, many from different income ranges. But one thing they all had in common was the ability to work as a neighbor. You could count on any of them in a pinch. I'm not saying they were all major role models for their kids but they knew the value of what friends and neighbors stood for.

During a snow storm only the Windhams had a truck good enough to get up our dirt road to hit the main highway to get into town for supplies. Before they left they stopped at all the houses and took "orders". We little kids couldn't wait to see that big truck sail right up the snowy and icy road to "groceries", and waited with baited breath for a glimpse of it coming back! Mom had stuck a little extra money back for store bought cookies! Now that was something worth waiting out side in the cold for!

Our house was where most of the neighbors mingled and I always thought it was because my Mom was a wonderful listener and conversationalist. Now that I am grown I can see it was mostly because my Mom was the most wonderful cook that walked the earth. There was always something simmering on her stove and a dozen or so children buzzing around just waiting for something to get "done". I can remember an ironed tablecloth layered with fried pork chops with onion gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans with a stack of bread, butter and pickles. I couldn't tell you how many times kids would be itchin to be asked to "stay to supper". I've often talked about my brothers best friend "Leroy in my blogs". Leroy loved staying for supper and always complimented my mothers cooking.

Our next door neighbors were the Kelly's and I couldn't say enough good things about them, especially their Mom, Millie. What a wonderful woman. She would sneak over to our house on a Saturday morning to have coffee with Mom and catch up on all the local gossip. I often woke up on a cold winters morning to hushed tones as Millie whispered the latest rumor stories. Millie gave all five of us girls haircuts and I can so remember her always asking us long haired girls, "Are you sure your Momma wants me to cut this much off?" Millie's oldest son was a very talented young man and very athletic, just like his father Lloyd. I can remember Lloyd running so fast and sailing over our fence like it was nothing. I can also remember after my father passed away, Lloyd came to my brothers baseball game and was there to cheer him on even when he struck out. He was covering for my dad. That's what neighbors do. When my father was in so much pain from the cancer Millie was the one who would come over and give him shots to ease it. They were true neighbors.

We had a few "elite" neighbors as well and I learnt a lot from them. A Major lived just at the top of our dirt road and his beautiful daughters would bring me up to their big living room with the hardwood floors and a beautiful grand piano that their white fluffy cat sat on. I was invited to drink ice tea with them. They drank it out of crystal clear goblets without sugar so I just assumed that rich people drank ice tea with out it. It's funny how a child associates things with being rich. Our relationships with the "Majors" kids was nice but not very personal and close. Not like the friendship between our family and the Windhams.

Cathy Windham moved at the bottom of our little dirt road when I was about ten. Her mother was a nurse and stopped by our house to introduce herself and her very special daughter Cathy. She explained to us girls that Cathy was born with a special condition that would not allow her to run like us or play hard. The way her Momma explained it to us little girls was very understanding and we came to adore Cathy and her whole family. Her older brother was a life savor for me when one snowy day after my father passed away I made a "rabbit trap" and carried it all the way into the woods at the base of a very steep incline. The whole night lying in my bed I couldn't wait to see if I could put some meat on our table. The next morning bright and early I donned several layers of clothing and plodded through the snow with two little nosey sisters in tow. Climbing down the steep embankment on my rear end, I spied my trap. The trap door was shut! I had something! What I didn't stop to think of was what did I have. I just assumed it was a rabbit but it really could have been anything from a cat to a skunk. I picked that trap up and boy was it heavy! It took all I had to get to the top of the steep incline and back to the house where I took a little peek inside. There was the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen looking back at me, a rabbit, a BIG rabbit. Now I had the dinner but how was I going to get it into Mamma's oven? That's where Cathy's big brother came in. I called him and told him my dilemma and he came right up. All us girls hid in the house till the dirty work was done and good old Arty had that rabbit ready to be cleaned and cooked. That night at dinner I was proud of myself for putting dinner on our table but also thankful for the help from our "neighbor" for making it all possible.

The summer before my father became sick our neighbor up the highway came down completely out of wind and carrying a rifle. He told my father to get us kids in the house. There was a rabid dog on the loose and all the men were tracking it down before it could bite anyone. We watched from our big kitchen window as all the men in the neighborhood toting guns began searching for the rabid dog. Rabies was something that many neighbors feared living in the country in the fifties. We waited there in Mamma's still kitchen till we heard the first gunshot. These men had made our neighborhood safe again. They acted like neighbors, as a team, a community. Something that is hard to find in our present day neighbourhoods.

Our neighbors nowadays hardly know each others name let alone bond with each other. We keep to ourselves and they keep to their selves, privacy being the end all to everything. But what price does privacy come with when we actually "need" our neighbors? With cells phones you don't even have to go grocery shopping alone anymore so the need for a good neighbor is not needed. Or is it?

Our lack of being "neighbourly" may some day come to bite us in the rear if we don't heed the lessons our parents taught us. Get to know your neighbors, be there for them when they need you, for you never know when you just may desperately need them. So give your neighbors a call, wave to them each morning. We need to come together now, as a nation, as a good neighbor to each other. After all were in this together.... neighbor helping neighbor, friend helping friend.....Till next time ....Aunt Onie