These are the people in my neighborhood...

If you have children, you have probably heard this song, ad nauseum while watching Sesame Street with them. If you are a young person, you probably sang this song with your parents. For some reason, during one day’s walk, this song came into my mind, and wouldn’t let go.  I hummed it going up the hills, I hummed it going down the hills, then graduated to singing it out loud at an upbeat tempo to keep myself moving forward at a quick pace for the last couple of miles. I have seen and met so many nice people the past 23 weeks. You can learn a lot about people just by walking past their homes repeatedly. 

Let me introduce you to some of the people I’ve waved to/spoken to/learned to avoid during my walks –

• there’s the man who lets his dogs out on the front lawn to do their business, while he stands on the lawn and reads the paper. When they’re done, they wait on the porch, until he finishes and lets them back into the house
• the woman who used to be a jogger, but now, due to arthritis in her legs, can only walk two blocks, which she does, every morning, in her bathrobe and slippers, and three times, she joined me as I was passing her house
• the old man who walks his golden retriever three times a day – the dog’s name is Toby, have no clue what the man’s name is
• Lawn woman is obsessed with moving the sprinkler hither and yon until every inch of her greenery has been doused
• the Walking Whistler, who is about 80 years old. He walks as if someone is chasing him, the whole time whistling some unknown tune – honestly, it gets on my nerves! 
• the woman who “dresses” her plastic lawn ducks in costumes based on whatever the season/holiday is – right now, one is dressed like a witch, the other like a pumpkin.
• the miniature dachshund, who joins its master jogging and runs as if its life depends on it, always a few steps ahead of its owner with its tongue swinging in the breeze.
• the Charlotte-Mecklenburg policeman who keeps his lawn trimmed with a GIANT John Deere tractor that takes about three passes to complete the mowing.
•  a very SENIOR citizen that walks like Tim Conway, I kid you not! – for those who don’t know who that is, shame on you! 
• The couple from NJ that is moving back after 6 years so that they can be closer to their children/grandchildren – the upstairs of their 3500 sq. ft. custom house has never been used!  
•  The grandma that rides her “little rascal” up a steep driveway to the mailbox – that’s one of the ways she helps around the house. (btw, her cat accompanies her to and from the box.)
• The young woman walking her Golden-Poo (a cross between a Standard Poodle and Golden Retriever) – every time I’ve seen her, she is talking on her cell – who has that much to talk about?? 
• The Bible Study Teacher who is new to NC (from Washington D.C.). We spoke for well over an 2 hours one day about our lives, our families, our hopes and dreams, and God’s place in it all.
• The Vietnamese man who lovingly tends to his beautiful flower garden daily.
• The young girl who can be found curled up on a chair on her front porch, reading a book as early as 7:00 a.m.
• The couple whose corner property is pristine, whose home would make Martha Stewart proud, but whose personalities are cold as ice – not once in the numerous times I have passed them sitting on their porch, did they EVER wave, smile, or utter a word. How rude!!
•  The landscapers in SailView – I’m there when they’re there and we’ve weathered the heat, rain and morning fog together
• an elderly gentleman who walks his shihtzu at Jetton Park on Thursday mornings; he’s much friendlier than the dog (what’s wrong with that breed that they’re so nasty)
• The Lincoln County Sheriff that patrols SailView; has a great smile, and started giving me two-thumbs up the third week in! (hard not to recognize the limping woman in pink J)

There’ve been entrepreneurs along the way too  – all under 12 years old

• the brother and sister selling lemonade
• two friends selling cherry slushies – they sat at the side of the road for 6 hours, and what a treat it was as the temperature had climbed to well over 90 degrees by the time the walk was over.
• one young man who sold duct-tape wallets for $1 apiece; he was the first salesman I came across, and taught me that you should always carry cash on you, just in case you need to frequent a local vendorJ

So, now…  you know “the people in my neighborhood, in the neighborhood, they’re in the neighborhood…and these are the people in the neighborhood, the people that you meet each day!”