Ted

In our old neighborhood, we knew a total of 4 neighbors in the 4 year span that we lived there. That was pretty bad considering it was a normal city block where the houses are jammed together.

Once we moved into Macomb, we knew almost every neighbor on our street within a week. There are about 14 houses on our street and we know almost every family.

Two people that I really like are Ted & Lucy. They are probably in their late 50's and are polish. Ted keeps his lawn meticulous. In fact he mows in his bare feet. I once asked him if he was worried about stepping on something, like a bee's nest, which of course he replied "no". The first time I saw Ted, I immediately thought of my Dad. Ted works for GM, and wears the same uniform that my Dad wore for so many years.

He is always outside doing something, whether it be to his house or lawn. He also rolls his lawn with a huge roller filled with water, which my dad has also done. On one occasion, I borrowed it after the spring thaw, to roll the ruts out of the lawn. It worked like a charm.

Ted and Lucy mostly keep to themselves, but any conversations with them are usually always good ones. One year however, I noticed there was no activity at their house for an extended amount of time. I started to worry. For people that we normally see every couple days, there was nothing. The lawn remained untouched and there were no signs of life. Finally I saw Lucy outside, and I went over there. I told her that I was very worried (although whatever or where ever they were, remained none of my business). She was pleasantly surprised that someone noticed. They had gone to Poland for a vacation. A day or two after they arrived, her Dad passed away. They remained in Poland longer than originally planned. I felt so bad for her.

Regardless, a year or two has passed. Today it's warm out. I'm ready. I am so ready for this snow to be gone that I am half tempted to shovel the lawn off. But instead, I decided to go out and clear the areas around the drains in front of our house. Our drain was already clear, as it lays directly in front of our mailbox. Across the street however, the drain was hidden. I grabbed a gardening tool and went to work. I was diligently working at the snow and ice, trying to locate the drain, when Ted came out to his mailbox. We then talked for a few minutes, then he too decided to take up the cause. Locating the one in front of his house was of special interest to both of us. Within minutes, we found it.

We continued with tools in hand, cutting rivers through the ice, watching the melted snow rush into the drains. It was the most therapeutic hour I've had all week. At first I'm sure Ted thought I was nuts, but then when we started working together, the conversations started as well. We talked about work, school, the economy, why everyone should speak English (which this foreigner not only brought up, but agrees to). We talked about the kitten he found in his engine compartment, and how Dennis took it to the Humane Society this winter. We talked about how the neighborhood used to look before 400 ash trees were leveled to the ground. Most have planted something new. We chose a silver maple, while he went for an oak.

I am sure this post has probably bored you to tears, but for me, I feel so much better having spent the time clearing the drains today. If not for the snow to make a quicker exit, but more for time working with Ted... which is like being with Dad.