Good Neighbors

Last summer, Helen treated us to a post titled, “One Good Deed Deserves Another, and Another…”  I think about that post every now and then, and find myself inspired today to thank some of our neighbors for recent goodness, both small and ginormous.

Thanks, guys:

• Akbar over at Palazzo Coffee, thanks for taping the recipe for my partner’s favorite but far-too-complicated drink inside the cash register for your barista to use while you were out of town.  How very thoughtful, since she can’t remember her own name before coffee, let alone how to make said espresso drink.
• AvTech, one morning last week I was drinking morning coffee on my deck and found myself reading large white graffiti on your west-facing fence.   I hated seeing graffiti from my deck, especially when I was trying to enjoy a relaxing start to the day.  But by the time I got home from work it was gone.  And this isn’t the first time AvTech has been responsible for keeping lower Wallingford clean.  You guys rock.
• Everyone who participated in the 5th of July Gas Works Cleanup sponsored by Starbucks, thank you for removing all the broken beer bottle glass on Wallingford Avenue between 34th & 35th streets on Tuesday.  What a tremendous difference your clean up efforts made around here!
•  To the two very young gentlemen I caught with a rocket in the driveway outside my apartment during the Family Fourth, you guys were awesome!  When I asked you to stop setting off fireworks on the property, you politely agreed to do so without any impudence whatsoever.  And then you explained that property owners get “veto power” over any action you take on another person’s property.  And then you both smiled sincerely as you left.  Thanks, guys.  I have hope for your generation now.  Oh, and please PLEASE run for public office someday.   We could use a few political leaders with a strong moral code.
• Everyone who helped look for Mage and Benny.  And everyone who applied social pressure to the local singer whose name shall not be repeated here anymore.
• And to absolutely everyone who rallied around the Durn Good Grocery, Jai, and Stella after the little rat terrier was taken from the store.  You were determined to get her back, and she’s home now.  And y’all, what a truly remarkable Wallingford community effort  to right a wrong!  It was a joy to watch.  Here are just a few of the cool things I know about:
• Wallyhood’s Margaret, for letting us know Stella was missing in the first place.  And for all her work with Jai to try to identify the dognapper’s truck.
• Lisa at Kinko’s in Fremont, for her donation to the poster effort.  Lisa loves animals, and she went to elementary school in what is now Wallingford Center.  Thanks Lisa!
• Every single person who posted the story on Facebook or forwarded it to friends.
• Everybody involved in postering efforts; faxing posters to veterinarians across town, helping find photos of Stella, working with the surveillance footage, etc.
• All of you who Commented on posts about Stella, asking questions like “What can we do?”… and then doing something.

I love being your neighbor, Wallingfordians.  And I love that you are mine.

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