Good neighbors.

Yesterday was good neighbor day on my street. At 8 a.m., there was a knock on our front door. Our neighbor, Kenneth, was responding to my plea for help in putting together my shiny new bicycle. Mom and I are what I like to call pioneer women, meaning we really do try to do things for ourselves, but putting the bike together was out of my realm. Even with my glasses, the print on the instructions was too tiny. So, enter Kenneth. He didn't need the instructions. He put the thing together in record time, took it to his house to tighten things up with his metric tools (what?), and used his uber digital tire pressure checker and electric air pump to make sure the tires were properly inflated.

When he was satisfied that the seat and handle bars were in just the right place, and after he had me take a test drive, he got his own bike out and we rode up and down the street. Kenneth and his wife, Frances, have been lived next door for more than 30 years. They are salt of the earth, do anything for you, good neighbors.

While I was riding, our neighbor, Oscar, came out for his morning walk. As I pedalled by, he shouted, "That's the way to do it girl!"

I am still a girl to Oscar. He and his wife, Lily, have been our neighbors for more than 40 years. Later in the day, Mom would go over and help jump start one of their cars.

Our neighbor Mel came out, on his way to work. He reminded us that whoever was home when the trash man came needed to put all the cans up. Burglars have been determining whose homes are prime for picking by whether or not the trash cans have been put away. Mel has been our neighbor for more than 20 years. He and his room mate, Johnny, dogsit for us from time to time.

Good people, good neighbors! It is not lost on me that I benefit from of all of this kindness due, in no small part, to the fact that my mom is a good neighbor. She has cultivated these relationships over the years. She extends herself to these people, providing a listening ear, a shoulder, a ladder, a cup of sugar - whatever is needed.

Thank you, Mom!