I'm a "Howdy neighbor!" sort of person . . . add to that . . . my life . . . so . . .my neighbors . . . they've either taken me under their wings . . . or have chosen to just shake their heads . . .

. . . they've seen my sons' births . . . they've seen the raising of them . . . they've seen divorce . . .

. . . they've seen motorcycles, artists, eccentrics . . .

. . . they've heard my car lock beep at the oddest hours . . .

. . . they've walked by my home to see my one red living room wall and all my collected art covering the walls . . .

. . . they've seen me shoveling two feet of snow from my walkway only to have the roof dump its snow overhang undoing all I'd done, cover me and me sitting down to cry . . .

. . . they've had me come borrow every tool imaginable while friends try to fix something in my home . . .

. . . they've had me come ask for help start my lawnmower only for me to find out that metal bar needs to be held back because that's the start thing . . .

. . . they've had me say I want their 3 foot wide stump to make a base for a picnic table, watched two friends try to roll the 300 pound stump across the street, manuever it into my backyard, for me to turn it into a stumpy plant stand . . .

. . . and me . . . I've woken up on snowy days to find someone has brushed off my car and cleared a path to my car . . .

. . . they've seen every emotion, every aspect of life tried to be lived out to the best and worst of my ability . . .

. . . and we still wave, talk and smile to each other . . . it's a "howdy" sort of neighborhood . . .