Would You Be Mine? Could You Be Mine? Won't You Be My Neighbor?

About a block from my house there’s a convenience store called "Sam’s Party Store." I would often go have a chat with Sam on Sunday mornings when I’d walk to get the newspaper. When Sam was diagnosed with lung cancer about two years ago, he sought treatment and turned the store’s management over to his daughter and son-in-law. Sam’s treatment was successful and I occasionally see him at the store. It’s nice to have a place close by when you need an over-priced jug of milk, some cat food or a 2 liter of diet coke. I drop in frequently, especially when walking to and from work and campus. This is Ted, who’s not really very shy. Maybe it was just a bad hair day. Ted adopted one of my little feral kittens I rescued about 6 months ago. He is also my neighbor, living in an apartment in the house next to mine. It’s good to have neighbors like Ted. When the power steering suddenly went out on my car and I struggled to get it parked in front of my house, it was Ted who quickly discovered my fan belt had snapped and he replaced it for me. He also recaulked my upstairs bathtub. Do you know how happy that made me? He is currently in the process of caulking my downstairs windows and then will work on the upstairs. Hopefully, my $300 heating bills will be a bit lower this winter. Ted is more of an "oldie" like me so it’s nice to have him as a neighbor. Most of my neighbors come and go every 9 months, normal with young college kids. Still, I enjoy the hum of a neighborhood alive with younger people. Last weekend UT played the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. It was not on regular TV so I could not keep track of the score. I knew, however, that we were winning, compliments of all the screams and hoots from the party somewhere behind my house. Yes, I like all my neighbors, even the ones who party well into the next day.