Neighborhood Watch

Our neighborhood is about 40 to 50 years old. Many of our neighbors have lived here for that long. I think of the neighborhood as being a solid, blue-collar area where people walk their dogs, drink beer and root for the Bears. Most people have 2 cars and well kept lawns. Yes, there are a few McMansions around, but we don’t know those people and generally think poorly of them for their choice in large, ugly housing.

no cute dogs live here 

During the first week in our house, we met several neighbors and attended a backyard barbecue. It was an easy, relaxed atmosphere and English was the spoken language which was so great after 9 years of barely understanding what was being discussed around me. There was some discussion as to which baseball team to root for, but mostly I was riveted by the tale of UFOs, lost time, and alien abduction that one of our neighbors had experienced. The description was highly detailed and relayed in such a casual manner that you simply had to believe that it was all true. As you well know, the Chicago area is a hot spot for UFO activity and so I expect that my saucer people experience should not be too far away.

I want to believe...in alien baseball

Most of our neighbors are quite nice and seem to get along with each other. But just like in high school or at the office, there is always the pariah. In our neighborhood there is the house where the "kid" (as the 45 or so year old guy is known locally) simply sits outside with his pals and drinks. All day. Everyday. Sometimes they play music. Sometimes they throw firecrackers for no particular reason. It does make for often compelling window watching since the police have been there at least 3 times and there have been 2 ambulance parties in the last month. It is nothing exciting like Kung Fu fights or UFO abductions. Normally, one of the gentlemen simply falls down/passes out in the bushes and cannot get up. It has just become part of our suburban lives.

a Kung Fu alien fight would be spectacular