A Bump in the Night

Earlier this week, as I was trying to fall asleep, I thought I heard banging. After a few minutes, I heard it again. Someone was banging on our front door in the worst way. By now, I was out of bed, looking out of the front windows. There were two or three police squads in front of our house. That's when I got dressed.

My husband was just closing the door as I reached the main floor of our house. "What is it?" I asked. He told me the police were responding to an alarm at our neighbor's house, and they couldn't reach anyone at her home. Her lights were on, her front door was ajar (though the front porch door was closed and locked) and all seemed quiet, but try as they might (and boy, did they try) they could not find a living creature at home. They asked us if we had a key to her house, which we didn't. I tried to go back to bed, but by now I was wide awake with worry. If her alarm was going off, why wasn't she responding to the banging on her own front door? Was she in trouble? Was there someone in the house with her, preventing her from getting out? 

Eventually, the police left, and we noticed our neighbor's lights had been doused. I tossed and turned all night. We should have a key to her home, as she should have one to ours. I was upset that the police didn't try to force their way into the house (even though I know that the police cannot just break your door down if your alarm goes off... but still). I was a little scared. 

The next day, I was a bit of a train wreck, having had no sleep. I was on the watch for our neighbor, and I was relieved when I heard that she had merely slept through all of the excitement. We exchanged keys and cell phone numbers, and laughed over what now seemed over the top. But inside, I still felt a little cautious, a little more aware that things can and do happen, that danger can come into our home in the middle of the night. It's good to know that one next-door neighbor is looking out for me and my family, and I for her. 

Love Your Neighborhood

 We came together with our neighbors yesterday to share a potluck lunch, play games with the kids, and get to know each other a bit better. This neighborhood party fulfilled a wish I've had for a few years—to re-live the block parties I remember from my childhood in Englewood, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. We would decorate our bikes and trikes, play Red Rover and eat hot dogs. That was more than 25 years ago, so things have changed, of course...I live in the city now, and we chose to forego paying for the police permits and sawhorses to block off our street, but we had a lovely day for our party anyway. Even while the adults took turns chasing balls into the street. I'd been told by one somewhat dubious neighbor that the folks on our street "just don't do things like this"—but she had just as much fun at our little gathering as everyone else. And we're already discussing a backyard bonfire and a Christmas luminaria party. I'd call that neighborhood spirit!

Our neighborhood was named the Best Neighborhood in Minnesota for 2007 by Minnesota Parent magazine, a fact I like to share with visitors who don't get to the city much. You can see it in their eyes, the uncertainty about where we live. Older homes, racially mixed, lots of Obama signs, litter, proximity to the busy University-Snelling intersection: not exactly a pristine-looking  (read: safe-looking) part of town. But spend any time here and you'll soon discover what we have in the more than four years we've called the Midway area home. Our neighbors are politically active, they care about their homes and their children, they vote to fund education and they come together to creatively solve problems like speeders on our side streets and to fundraise for our park's repairs. 

There's lots to love in our nearly-century-old houses, too. Our old house has beautiful woodwork inside, as do many of our neighbors' homes. Our ceilings are tall, our wood floors glow with the patina of age, and our minimal square footage means we spend less time doing housework than our neighbors in the Summit Avenue 'hood. I've worked on our garden every year we've lived here, and just this year I planted our first vegetables and herbs, inspired by the homeowners two doors down. This is the kind of neighborhood where neighbors do more than lean over the fence to chat: we actually walk down the street to have a real conversation with one another about the tomatoes you're growing and how my phlox is doing this year. 

In addition to chatting with neighbors I see all of the time, I met two people at yesterday's event that I've lived next to for years but had never met. Did we have a bouncer for the kids, police on horseback, and carnival-quality games to play? No. But we had a few soccer balls, a game of mini-golf, great homegrown and homemade food, and lots of laughs. I'd say our shin-dig was a great success. Can't wait 'till that bonfire later this Fall!