Taxing Neighbors

Today is tax day in the US. It's the last day to file your taxes. And as usual, I always wait til the last minute to file my taxes. It's not that I owe the gov't money or anything; I just forget. On the way home today, I listened to a radio station that proposed making April 15 a local Good Neighbors Day. It's when we talk about what makes a good neighbor and how thankful we are for them!

So in the spirit of Good Neighbors Day, I'd like to recognize those neighbors who've made my apt living experience quite memorable.

So, here's to you Cougar lady from 14C! You surprised me with your neighborliness when I first moved in to those apts on the south side of town. You were gracious, you were open, and you invited me over for coffee (and into your bed) while your husband was working. What a welcome!

Unfortunately, I don't drink coffee (and I have my own bed to sleep in, but thank you for your concern about me getting enough sleep). Your friendliness was duly noted. Thus, it was only fair that I be neighborly to your husband, when he came home early that day, knocked on my door to ask if I had seen a man come out of your apt. So I told him of that other man who jumped out the back window just minutes before, wearing only his underwear, hiding behind the bushes. The fact that your husband chased that man, beat him up, then threw you out of the apt was his way of freeing you to share your friendliness with the world. Thank you, good neighbor, for making me feel welcomed!

And here's to you, too, Old Couple from 20A! You were very helpful, providing me with useful information about living in those apts on the north side of town. You wanted to come into my apt and take a look at all the renovations that were recently done. I showed you the new carpets and the new paint on the walls that the apt manager showed me a week before.

You both complimented what a splendid job maintenance did in that apt, replacing the old blood soaked carpet and filling in the bullet holes on the walls, after that drug deal went bad with the previous tenants. Your information helped me make up my mind to move somewhere else after my lease expired. Thank you, good neighbors, for filling me in on all the important details (that the apt manager left out!).

And finally, the Old Bird next door at my current apt. Thank you for your sharing spirit! You've shared food with the neighborhood cats that have eaten those birds that used to crap on my car when I parked it under the tree. And those cats now poop in my front yard and leave filthy paw prints all over my car, especially after I've just finished washing it.

Thank you, Old Bird, for sharing your countless medical conditions and illnesses whether I ask about them or not. Without your arthritic hands or replaced knees acting up, I would only have the weather channel (and looking to the sky) to determine whether I need to pack a poncho or not. Thank you for being a weather girl and for freely sharing personal information that only your doctor should be aware of!

With such colorful experiences with neighbors, is it any wonder I treat my neighbors the same way I treat the IRS? The less contact, the better! I hope you find yourself among good neighbors; or at the very least find good stories to make it all worthwhile and remind yourself why you're not a hermit in a cave somewhere.