NEIGHBORS

7-21-09...GOOD NEIGHBORS

Used to be a little community like I grew up in neighbors were just that, Neighbors. Now you are called a nosy old busybody if you try to be neighborly. Trust and mutual understanding all seemed to have blown out into the wind somewhere.
When I was a child everyone helped everyone and everyone knew when someone needed help. It wasn't because someone ran around with a sign on their backs proclaiming “I'm Hungry. Feed Me” or some such thing either. It was because people genuinely cared about their neighbor.
There wasn't much money anywhere but there were friends and neighbors who were there to help.
Food was a big thing. We grew and raised and processed, and killed, and gathered our food. And we shared. If someone was sick there was food brought and prepared for them. Your washing, your cleaning, your chores, and you, were tended to by neighbors. Whatever help you needed you got. In turn you did the same for them.
If someone had a big crop the work and the bounty was shared without question. If I had two pairs of shoes and yours got too small you got a pair of mine.
There was trust then too. I know there were bad people then too but somehow I guess I didn't know that then for some reason. Now seems like no one trusts anyone.
We kept our elders at home and cared for them instead of ripping them off like people are doing now.
No one was laying in wait to steal from you but to give you more.
I guess that was an advantage of small community living. I don't know because I didn't live in town but even small communities are not the same anymore either. Now you may come home and find you have been robbed or vandalized.
Three summers ago I had two peach trees just loaded with ripe beautiful peaches. I watched them and waited for the right time to harvest and get them all worked up for eating all winter. I had told several people they would be welcome to some because there were so many. I was willing to share them but not to have them done the way they were.
One morning early I was going to pick peaches. I knew there would most likely be at least two bushels. No one had took me up on coming to pick and share so I was planning to take some and give them away to several people.
I had two big grocery bags to pick in. The trees are down in the front and not close to the house. I walked down there and just stopped with my mouth open when I saw my peaches. Did I say Peaches? Well that was the wrong choice of words because there was nary a peach to be seen. Someone had come in the night and stripped every peach in sight. Not even a peach on the ground was seen. I mean those suckers had cleaned me out lock stock and barrel. YEP! Not even the smell of a peach was left. That was bad enough but when I looked over at the plum tree it was desecrated something awful. Someone had knocked the plums down on the ground and must have gotten mad because they were not ripe and started stomping on them. A few limbs were broken off the tree as well.
Now I would have give some peaches to anyone who asked be it friend or stranger. They could have had some peaches just for the asking. I had to many and didn't need all of them, I wanted to share, even tried to share, but this was too much for my simple mind to comprehend. I wasn't so much mad but more hurt. I don't know who did it but I hope they really used and enjoyed the peaches and didn't just do it for a lark. I will not believe it was someone I know.
It is getting harder every day to trust someone enough to call them a neighbor. Neighbor used to mean something. They were someone to count on, someone who was there for you, they were friends. I'm finding it very hard to believe that there is no one left who is a real Neighbor. Very hard indeed.