Won't You Be My Neighbor?

I feel like the days of being neighborly are coming to a close... How often do you go to your neighbor's house for dinner, or bring them some homemade dessert to say "thank you" for a favor?

Our apartment building is completely full, and I've seen many people come and go over the years. I feel that being friendly is essential when you share common areas with people. How uncomfortable is it to be in the elevator when another person walks in, you say "Hello," and he or she says nothing? That scenario has played out far too often in the time that I've lived here, so when I have pleasant exchanges with the other tenants in the building, I get all warm and fuzzy.

The neighbors who live directly across the hall from us have a sweet cat. One day, she got locked out. How it happened, I don't know. The poor thing was terrified, and frantically batting at the door knob trying to get back into her apartment.  

I remember the day that our neighbors brought the cat home. She was such a cute little kitten, and her owners were so proud of her. As I've stated before, I'm more of a dog person. Yet, it's hard to hate a kitten.  

Anyway, even though I have a "history" with our neighbors, I don't know their first names.  Scratch that... sometimes we get their mail, so I use that as a crutch. After 7 or 8 years have gone by, it's awkward to say "What's your name?". So, kitty was mewling in the hallway, and after I knocked on the neighbors' door for a while with no answer, I asked Hubby what we should do. We decided not to bring the cat in, since we weren't sure if she had received all of her shots (we didn't want to put Baby Bee at risk). What's more, we didn't have our neighbors' phone number, so we couldn't call them to say that their cat was locked out.  

Finally, we called the building manager who eventually came up to our floor and unlocked the door so kitty could go back home. In the meantime we used the intercom to call our neighbors and left them a message about their cat. Hubby and I took also turns going outside to talk to kitty so that she would calm down. It was almost as if she were another baby that we were trying to soothe. The sound of her crying in the hallway broke my heart.

Just the other night, as we were finishing dinner, we heard a knock at the door. No one ever knocks on our door except UPS or FedEx, so we always get a "Who is that?!" / panicked expression on our faces when we're not expecting a delivery. Lo and behold, it was our kind neighbor from across the hall! She brought us some delicious Brazilian pao de mel cakes that she made herself... A token of thanks for looking out for her cat.

It's important to care about your neighbors. We don't have to perform grand gestures. A simple smile or greeting is great. The golden rule is true. You'd want someone to help you if you needed it, right? So, the next time you see one of your fellow community dwellers in the hall, or on the block, say "Howdy, Neighbor!" You just might get some chocolate out of it.