neighbors

I met my parents at 8 this morning to take them to the airport and by 8:15 we were stuck in a ditch.

The roads, ditches, and fields were a level plane of snow, so it was impossible to decipher how sharp the curve was, where the road ended and the ditch began. My mom had just offered to give me her AAA card in case I got stranded after dropping them off, and here we were barely a mile from home getting sucked into the ditch by ice and snow.

"I wonder what Sam is up to," my dad says casually, referring to the neighbor whose house we had passed a half a mile ago. He pulls out his cell phone and punches in the numbers (Do you know your neighbor's cell number? I'm impressed with my dad on so many levels).

"Where are you?" Dad asks when Sam picks up.

"Having coffee at Charlie's," I hear Sam respond.

"We're in the ditch."

"I'll head that way."

Dad pushes a button to end the call and then punches in seven new numbers.

"Are you comfortable?" Dad asks, laughing.

"I just pulled in my driveway. I'm sitting in my truck," I hear Doug respond. I can see his house on the other side of the field from where we are stuck.

"We're in the ditch."

"I'll get the tractor."

End call.

"Someone is coming," I say, watching my friend Brandi follow our tracks and slide into the ditch right behind us. "I'll tell her help is on its way." I climb out of the car as she is calling her dad.

Within 20 minutes Doug is there with the tractor; Sam is there with his truck and a chain, apologizing for being "late" (he'd slid into the ditch on his way and was helped out by the driver of a snow plow); Brandi's dad is shoveling snow and her two boys are doing cannon balls in the ditch. Shortly thereafter we are all on our way.

God said to love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is how neighbors love: They drink coffee together. They put down their coffee to go help a friend, and if they meet a stranger in need along the way they help them too. They have each other's numbers and feel free to call when they require a hand, because they are always willing to return the favor, no questions asked.

EMBRACE NEIGHBORS.

Be a good neighbor. And be grateful for the ones you have.


Watching Breakfast at Tiffany's because it is amazing, and it reminds me that city people have neighbors too... people to drink with, laugh with, to call when you've locked yourself out of your apartment or can't find your shoe, and whose windows are always open to crawl in when you've had a bad date.