Friday, October 16, 2009

The Neighborhood

Does proximity of houses have something to do with how friendly you are with your neighbors? Or is it just that you have all chosen a neighborhood for the same reason and therefore have a common ground. I think about this quite a bit.

When we lived in a average neighborhood in South Austin, where the homes were about 20 feet from each other, we never really were social with our neighbors. We knew them enough to chat on the sidewalk at 11pm, let their cat play in our house, and knock on the door to ask why the hell they turned off our water from the main valve on the lawn. We did not know them well enough to ask them to watch the dog when we went away, to ask them to turn down the music so our walls would not vibrate or borrow a cup of anything. I did love

We moved to the country after four years of living in that 1300 sq foot home in south Austin. Our nearest neighbor for a long time was the one across the street, across the street and down a 500yard driveway, not so close. Basically neighbors are close for a walk but far enough away to not be heard in daily activities.

Last night I drove down the hill to Terri's. Dropped off the kiddo to play with her son. Her hubby was home to watch the boys so we talked horses for a bit and then went for a walk. A walk down the driveway, and across the street to Kellie's. We opened a bottle of wine, sat on the front porch, until the mosquitoes got the better of us, and chatted. We finished up the wine and headed back to Terri's. It was dark by then but we felt relaxed and happy. The boys were fed and happy as well.

This sort of thing happens all the time. I love it. We have impromptu pool parties, pot luck dinners, game night and you can always find someone to watch your kid for an hour or so if you need to get some work done. Then there are the planned events....wine and cheese parties, progressive dinners, food and toy drives, holiday parades and Halloween hayrides. Maybe it is because we all have our "space" from each other and maybe because of the isolation, we crave company. I have no idea. I do know when we were on top of our neighbors, we wanted nothing to do with them. Now I would not trade my neighbors and friends for all the money in the world. They make my life and my family's life infinitely better.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Smoking ghost

Last night...3am.... I woke up and smelled cigarette smoke. More like the kind of smell when it is on someone after they have been outside for a smoke than a fresh smell. It was a harsh smelling brand, like Camel or a hand rolled. It confused me. I don't smoke, my husband quit years ago and we don't live near anyone who smokes. As a matter of fact, we physically don't live near our neighbor's homes.

I got out of bed to see if maybe husband had fallen on old habits and was sneaking a smoke outside on the front porch. He was sound asleep in our son's room with him. Puzzled I decided not to go downstairs to check it out. I went back to bed. Then I heard to front door latch click. It sounded like the front door. Sometimes if the door is not locked or shut properly it blows open. I got up to see if that happened. Nope, the door was shut. Daisy, our border collie/coyote mix was sleeping in the hall by the door. Surely if someone was there, she would have barked up a storm.

Back to bed. I decided to meditate to clear my head. The smoker's odor still present. I tried to keep it out of my head. My mind started to form a picture of this spirit that I did not like. A man with an old felt hat and sneering, snarling grin, a nose that looked like it had been broken a few times, dark stubble from a day's old beard and eyes that had no real eyeball just a glow. Okay! No more meditation. Happy thoughts! My imagination is really too much sometimes.

I really an getting curious about this cigarette smell though. It has been inside my truck on many occasions. I thought a mechanic was an ass and left a cigarette butt in my AC unit or near a fan. Lately I have been noticing the smell in my car too. Only when I am alone though. There have been no smokers in my truck or car, not even as passengers.

Thinking back to smokers in my family and the only one I knew was my brother-in-law who died young. Why would he be hanging out with me? Why not my sister? Maybe it is someone I never met, maybe it is my imagination. I really have no idea but I really do not like the smell of stale cigarette smoke. That is part of the reason I don't like to go to places where folks will be smoking. I am open to all suggestions. Thoughts?