Block Party

We dropped in on the fourth annual block party on our street this evening. It's organized by one of our neighbors and it's a nice get-together for folks who normally have little time to say hello to one another, although we live on the same two-block-long street.

You bring your own chair and food and share with others. But mostly it's an opportunity to talk. That's why for us, it was just a drop-in.

For the most part our neighbors are much younger than we are, which makes conversation difficult. For example, we were chatting with one woman and mentioned we've been living here since 1963. She giggled and said “that's the year I was born.” Ouch! Where do you go from there?

My wife is much better at small talk than I am. But even she agreed, as we walked home after our token appearance, that we don't really have much in common with our neighbors down the block or even across the street.

We love living on this street. There are lots of children and we enjoy watching them play. But when it comes to chatting with their parents it can be a stretch. How often can you say, Hi, nice to see you. How's everything? Answer: every time you see them.

As for the block party, “see you next year.”