Crazy Neighbors

Man.

It’s been…quite the week. Don’t you think?

Perhaps we should start by taking a deep breath. I know I could sure use it. Ready?

In

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Out

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Ahhhhh. Okay.

Now that we all have a little oxygen flowing, let’s talk about neighbors.

Growing up, I didn’t really have neighbors. I mean, I did. Technically, everyone has neighbors. Some of them are just reeeeeeeeeeally far away. Our neighbors were few and very spread out. So it was only after moving to Indianapolis that my understanding of neighborhood dynamics expanded beyond what I’d seen in movies. Now, I’m not a super chatty person; I don’t love small talk. So I’m not going to chase a neighbor down and ask how their fence is doing. Which means that I’ve typically had only marginal interaction with any of my neighbors.

However, on Wednesday between 11am and 5pm, I spoke with six neighbors, two cats, a FedEx driver, our mail carrier, and at least ten people from my neighborhood who don’t live in houses adjacent to mine. (I was also given an aloe plant, but that’s a story for another time.)

There are two reasons for this, that I can think of.

First, everyone is a little paranoid.

Second, everyone is very bored.

You see, on Wednesday, I decided to build a wooden box on which I could do box jumps in a CrossFit workout later in the afternoon. I didn’t really need to build a box, but the sun was coming out, I was feeling cooped up and anxious (see above statements on paranoia and boredom), and I decided that a little physical labor would do me some good. So I hauled some scrap lumber out of the basement, dug out my roommate’s circular saw, and got to building.

It took me a few hours to build the box, during which time my roommate returned home, and then we spent another hour or so working out in the front yard, using the box.

The number of questions, comments, heckling, and polite head nods I got during the day was genuinely astounding. People wanted to know what I was doing and why, and they could not FATHOM why I would spend so much time building a box just so I could jump on it. Feeling both paranoid and bored, everyone felt inclined to interact with this weird neighbor, the one building the box, to check and make sure she wasn’t a total lunatic. I think the jury is still out.

You should know that I did not look my best during this event. My hair lately has been a bit rough, and my general appearance was that of a 1940s drifter just in from a short stint on an oil rig. So I’m sure that didn’t help people feel comfortable with what I was doing.

(In my defense for my appearance I would like to offer the words of the neighbor that gave me the aloe plant: “I’m allowed to look homeless in a $@&#ing pandemic.”)

But here are my two takeaways from that day on my front lawn:

People think any extreme behavior is weird. Why would I spend hours building something just for a workout? And why would I spend hours working out on my front lawn for all to see? Why would I be so extremely dedicated to anything? It’s interesting to me that although my behavior was safe and even healthy, everyone found it odd.

People are starving for interaction. This is a difficult time for all of us, and as my hours on the porch proved, it’s a great time for each of us to provide a kind and happy moment for others. Even though we’re in isolation, even though we’re at least six feet apart (or connected by only the internet), we can still make someone else’s day a little brighter.

How have you seen this kind of positive interaction around you? What are you doing to brighten other people’s days? Or what have others done to brighten your day?