How many Park Hill neighbors does it take to clean your gutters?
The answer is as many as you need, because however many it takes they are there to help you out! Neighbors…that word does not begin to describe what we have in Park Hill. Every time one of our friends thinks about moving, they always say, “but we can’t leave our block! We have the best block in Park Hill!”
After much thought, we have discovered this truth: EVERY block in Park Hill is the best block.
We have one 24 foot extension ladder on our block. Everyone on the block knows who has it and where it is kept. If a frisbee ends up in a tree across the street, out comes the community ladder. When the gutters need cleaning in the fall, out it comes again. Christmas lights need hanging? Grab the community ladder! For whom ever’s home needs it. Because it is a given that everyone on this block is welcome to it!
This weekend, we were putting in a new kitchen faucet. We were having a hard time screwing down the nut that holds it in place, and we did not have anything that would work. None of the neighbors did either, so we called a friend who just moved from “the best block in Park Hill” to their new “best block in Park Hill” (neither being OUR block)! We knew they would have the Basin Wrench that we needed, and even though everything they owned was still in boxes, they were able to put their hands on it, and get it out for us to borrow. In about 5 minutes! After we returned the wrench, we went out and purchased our own, because “our block” needs one of their own. Now whoever needs one can get it right here on our block ~ “the best block in Park Hill”. But if we lose it, or it breaks, we can get it on that “other” best block in Park Hill, 5 blocks away.
Park Hill is a throwback to the days when we were children. Every kid on the block plays together. They run in and out of most every house on the block, getting drinks, grabbing snacks, using the “facilities”, while the parents watch closely to see which house they are in, and where they are playing. These are not necessarily kids who go to school together, or if they do, are friends at school. These are block friends. More like family. Arguments, laughter, bumps and bruises, all part of the game, all part of our lives, all part of the block.
When we were returning the borrowed Basin Wrench to our friends new house there were about 10 kids outside, riding scooters, and setting up cones to race around. They wanted to set them up in the street, but one of the father’s decided that was a bad idea (he was right!), and directed them to set them up in the driveway. Our friends NEW driveway that had immediately become property of the children of the block, because it is the longest and smoothest. And NO ONE objected ~ not our friends (they were delighted), not the kids, and none of the other parents. It’s that unwritten promise that has created neighbors for most of our lives. And this summer when all of us get up from our porches and start yelling down the block “Time to come in”, we will all be reminded that we live on the best block in Park Hill, no matter which block it is!