Opening Letters

Am I a Bad Neighbor?

Neighborday a good excuse to interact with those living nearby

Thom Fountain |

I don’t know if I’ve ever completely felt that feeling of “neighborhood.” Growing up, my family moved often or we lived on military bases where my friends were moving often. Once I moved to Eau Claire for school, it didn’t get easier. Living on campus and moving from student housing to student apartment, I always thought it would be impossible for me to develop any sense of neighborhood and, on top of that, why would I? I had my friends a second away on my phone at all times.

One of my favorite publications, GOOD Magazine, recently declared April 27 as Neighborday. Their efforts aim to reinstate the institution of neighborhoods by encouraging people to engage their neighbors and work towards fostering those relationships. The first little write-up about Neighborday included this quote from Harvey Milk: “If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods.”

I mean, I’m not loud, often drunk or lazy. I’ve shoveled the walk and brought out the trash when I’ve needed to. But I’ve never engaged.

This got me thinking about my lifelong, lackluster relationship with neighborhoods and that maybe it wasn’t external factors that caused it. Maybe I was just a bad neighbor. I mean, I’m not loud, often drunk, or lazy. I’ve shoveled the walk and brought out the trash when I’ve needed to. But I’ve never engaged. I’ve never stopped over next door to introduce myself, or invited neighbors over when I was grilling or shoveled a little further down the block to save someone the trouble.

I think I’m a bad neighbor.

So what exactly went wrong? I mean, my parents raised me right. I always tried to do my best at things, and I don’t think I watched too much TV. I guess my diet isn’t exactly stellar, but it can’t be bad enough to turn me into a bad neighbor.
But in my soul searching I found a few things that may have contributed to my downfall, and that – with some improvement – could lift me up into the good neighbor zone by Neighborday.

The Failed Social Network

Technology is a wonderful thing. The fact that I can keep up with friends from high school and my sister in London at the touch of a button is amazing. However, what’s great about it has also made us pretty lazy. If I can always keep in touch with my friends, why would I need to make any effort to find new friends? But that means we’re missing out on tons of connections to be made right there in our neighborhoods. Maybe that house a couple of doors down is the home of your new BFF/business partner/significant other and you’re missing out just because you’re content. I’m not mad. Just disappointed.

A Need For Reliance

You know the classic, cliché way people used to meet each other? They’d borrow a cup of sugar. One of the few neighbors I know I met while asking for assistance because my car got stuck during this apocalyptic winter. I’ve generally found people are pretty darn nice and helpful, if you ask for their help. And wouldn’t it be great to have a few people who owe you a favor? So ask for and offer help, because maybe you help change a tire and the next thing you know you’re invited over for dinner and eating the best shepherd’s pie you’ve ever had. Karma works like that.

Staying In

Nothing is too far in Eau Claire – about 20 minutes on a bike gets you anywhere you need to go – but developing and engaging your neighborhood is about, well, being in your neighborhood. I’ve always been bad about staying close to home, always thinking I was too busy to spend time there. But it’s about being a familiar face to the people you see almost daily. Invite friends and neighbors to a grill-out in your backyard or go outside and read on your front porch. Go for a run in your neighborhood instead of heading to the gym.

There’s a lot of good neighbors in Eau Claire, people proud of their ’hoods (whether they be Third Ward-ians, East Hill-ers or Putnam Heights-ites). I’ve got a goal to be one of them. So watch out, neighbors. I’m coming for you.

For more information on Neighborday, check out GOOD Magazine at Good.is.