Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

You may have read about (or experienced!) the major windstorm that hit the Seattle area this past weekend.  I was on vacation in Whistler, B.C. and as much as I tried to leave life behind and simply enjoy hitting the slopes, I couldn’t help but worry about all the damage I kept hearing about on the news– and that very large, half-dead tree in our backyard we’ve been meaning to take down.  My worries were further confounded when I received an email on my Blackberry from a coworker, telling me his roof had been smashed by an 80 foot tree (thankfully no one was hurt)!

This got me wondering… if a tree fell on my house, or some other disaster struck while I was gone, how would I know?  I don’t really know any of my neighbors beyond a friendly wave and hello while walking the dog or taking out the garbage.  Would anyone call me if something happened to my house?  Would anyone even know how to get a hold of me? 

When I was a kid living in suburbia, we knew our neighbors by name, knew when they were on vacation and how to get a hold of them.  We even fed their cats and watered their plants while they were gone.  If I threw a party while my parents were out of town, you better believe they would find out about it when they returned!  What a difference from the polite yet impersonal "relationships" I have with my neighbors today.

Is this neighborhood dynamic an example of the urban legend known as the "Seattle freeze?"  Is it simply a sign of changing times?  Or is it more of a suburb vs. city thing?  Whatever the case, I’m going to try a little harder to get to know my neighbors… and I’m having that tree removed before the next windstorm hits.

Photo by Family Communications, Inc.