Starting to get a little better understanding of the “village vibe” we got when we moved here. We’d met exactly one of our neighbors at the time. In a day or two another neighbor came to talk to me for a bit. He already knew where we were from and that I was a published author. I have a strong feeling that the entire blocks knows. It reminds me of growing up in a small southern town where everyone knew everyone and if anything at all happened, in short order everyone else knew about it. There are good and bad sides to this. On the one hand, everyone’s all in your business. On the other, well, I remember as a kid my friends and I were free to go anywhere we wanted in town or around it, do anything we wanted, with the understanding that, if what we did was something stupid or dangerous (or both), we’d likely either be stopped or, if possible, saved from the worst consequences of said stupidity. Our lack of supervision was strictly an illusion, because everyone in town, directly or indirectly, was on the job.
I’m not completely sure that I’ve missed that. But I do recognize both the value and drawbacks in it.
After picking up Carol at the Albany airport, we got home around 2AM. Now it’s 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I don’t think I want to go outside, but there are things to do, unfortunately, that don’t involve sitting behind a computer. Some days, I wish there weren’t.
Richard Parks 
The best thing about such a close knit community is that you will be looked after if anything goes wrong. I spent 27 years living in a neighborhood where my uphill neighbor would have nothing to do with me. A black family that didn’t want to associate with an Asian/Caucasian family.
Now that made me feel lonesome. The only family that welcomed us was when a Jordanian family lived next door. They invited us over for music night.
I know it is hard to have people in your business. Look at it a different way. Get
Into their business right back. Shades of Sherwood Anderson. Grist for the Mill!