Part 3 of 4
Great Neighbors (Them, not us)
Catty-corner from the house on 30th (and across the street from Neighbor Jay) is yet another great family. An All-American type of family. Doug (the dad), Paula (the mom), Aimee (the oldest) and two sons Andy and Aaron. Aaron, the youngest was a year older than our Jason so they spent a lot of time together. Aaron and Jason were part of the pack of little boys that roamed our neighborhood playing basketball, baseball, with the occasional (unapproved) full swing at a golf ball…into Watson Park….after dark when the park was closed (we hope).
This family is really likeable as well. Good people. But, secretly, I’m a bit jealous. They are all naturally thin. They don’t get chubby. So enjoyable people who take care of themselves. Those types. The worst.
In fact, the joke during basketball season was that if Aaron (again the youngest son who Jason was good friends with) stood sideways on the court, we could get 6 men on the court and the officials would never know. Because, you know, he was thin. And that’s how every last one of them are and have been for the last thirty-plus years we’ve know them.
Now Doug, the dad is a car enthusiast. He restores old cars and one of the cars he restored is a 49 Oldsmobile named Toad. It is a fantastic car, along with a seriously sweet, restored pickup truck he’d drive around when we lived on 30th. So yeah, admittedly a little more….envy.
I also remember that Andy (the oldest son) played the drums in a band. Admittedly, I did not envy Doug and Paula that particular aspect of their lives as he practiced many nights in their basement or maybe it was the garage.
So, just as the neighborhood participated (unwillingly) in the Jason/Neighbor Jay horn honking incident of 1989 (since sound travels and you participate whether you chose to or not); we all also participated in Andy’s drum pounding, band playing days through part of the 90’s.
I remember once my dad coming to the house and as he walked in, he commented, ‘you got a live band going on over there?’ I was like ‘what?’ My Dad ‘the drumming?’ I realized then that it just was a backdrop of drumming music that I had learned to incorporate into my evenings. I didn’t even really hear it anymore. Think about it – what a marvelous kind of neighborhood to be a part of.
Now keep in mind (for your reference), the family breakdown is:
Doug (The Dad)
Paula (The Mom)
Aimee (The Daughter)
Andy (The Son)
Aaron (The baby)
Andy (the neighborhood drummer) is now grown and has his own son, Siam. They were coming to town to visit Doug and Paula once, and Aimee told her own daughter that Siam would be visiting. Amy’s daughter asked a few days later, ‘When is Sam I am coming to see us?’ Siam, Sam I am. It’s all the same when your three. You have to adore the names our little one’s come up with for people, places, and things, when they can’t say or remember the correct name. Everyone has these stories and I find they grab the heart and squeeze when looking back at time.
I remember Jordan (our youngest) calling a cookie a ‘tookie.’ And once he called the Potomac River the ‘Poe Toe Mack’ and pronounced opaque as ‘Ope-A-Qua.’ Funny and sweet memories.
But back to our story. Sadly, Doug and Paula moved away from 30th when our sons (Jason and Aaron) were in high school. However, we still saw them quite often as the boys still played basketball together for a few years.
A few years later, they told us about a house that would be going up for sale in their new neighborhood. We really liked the neighborhood, so we contacted the owners of the home and bought it before they ever put it on the market. We still live there today and Doug and Paula, once again, are neighbors.
Even now, they, like neighbor Jay, continue to keep a really nice lawn so I’m sure we don’t make them happy on that side of life. We’ve been poor lawn-care givers pretty much our entire married life.
Once, our grass had gotten pretty tall. Taller than usual as our lawnmower was in the shop getting repaired. I had this decorative ceramic sheep that was about twelve-inches tall and pretty fat (about twelve-inches wide). Doug and Paula have a driveway that goes all the way to the back of their yard that connects to Doug’s shop. So of course, it goes right along our back yard.
I put my sheep right up close to that drive (but still in the grass in our yard) and put a sign next to it. Something along the lines of ‘Don’t bother me, I’m getting to the grass as fast as I can.’
I went out back the next day and found that Doug had pulled his barbecue grille onto the drive, next to where my little sheep had been. My sheep was laying on its side INSIDE his grille with the lid partially closed on top of it. His sign said something like ‘Lambchops served daily.’
Does it get any better than that?
They were the great neighbors from 30th street and are still great neighbors. And my appreciation and love for them has not lessened over the years. Jesus and family are important. But throw in some really good neighbors, and it takes a good life to a wonderful one. Friendship on every side. What more can you ask our Father for?
