And, of course, he was right. I immediately remembered that as I stepped out of the car, the General requested that I get objects from the back seat. What better place to set the cup than the top of her car?
The thoughtful neighbor also alerts me when we are away if he notices a package from UPS or Amazon left in our driveway. Those notifications have been of great help.
The other day, a different neighbor rang the doorbell to let me know that the back access door to the General's car was open. Reportedly, it had been that way for sometime, and he thought it probable that I had forgotten to close it.
“Seriously, how difficult could it be to close the back access door? Okay, you simply press a button, and the back door closes.” I can hear those words coming out of the General's mouth, but she didn’t verbalize them. I guess you could say that when it comes to the General, I am a mind reader.
I take full responsibility for leaving the access door open even though I partially blame the General. When the General makes out a grocery list, she itemizes the number of things we need. Invariably, she adds three cases of Dasani water and at least two gallons of Ozarka water.
First of all, three cases of Dasani and two gallons of Ozarka are going to fill most of the space in the grocery basket. In addition, water is heavy. And most importantly, three cases of water don't fit in our pantry. We have to put one case in the laundry room.
Why she does that is beyond me, but I know that it has to be learned behavior. The General's mother always bought in large quantities. I'm not suggesting that she was a hoarder, but you would have thought she was stocking pantry shelves for the long haul. The General is the same way. The grocery list always includes multiple selections of the same item.
Out of curiosity, I just opened the pantry, and we have seven containers of Theatre Style Popcorn Seasoning Spray. The General likes popcorn. I opt not to use seasoning spray because I don't like the feel of anything greasy on my fingers. I'm the guy that uses a fork and knife to eat pizza. My grandkids think I'm weird. I suspect their parents probably verbalized that perception to them when they were much younger.
At any rate, there are many advantages of living in a neighborhood where people watch out for one another. There is no replacement for the value of face-to-face personal contact.
Fortunately, we've met several people who will be our neighbors once we get moved. We plan to have an open outdoor living area in the front of the house that will be welcoming for neighbors to simply stop by and visit.
All My Best!
Don