My Neighbors and My Neighborhood
This is my neighborhood. (That's not my house though.)
I have been biking to work and I have been changing the way that I think about biking. Inspired by pictures from Amsterdam, I have been riding in whatever I plan to wear to work (office casual most days). So skirts and sandals usually. A safety pin between the knees works fine to keep my skirt down. I am riding a women's 3 speed, so I am sitting upright. I enjoy being able to cruise into work in less than ten minutes. I certainly feel more relaxed than I do in my car.
Yesterday I ran into my neighbor coming home from work on her bike. She noted how brave I was for wearing a skirt. I laughed and told her that it was actually quite comfortable and that now that I was used to it, I preferred it because I didn't have to let my transportation dictate my outfit for the day. "And it's more modest than what I am wearing," she observed as she gestured at her tank top and shorts. Why yes, I guess it is, I thought. I have always had religious neighbors for some reason. (The neighbor who helped me pick up my spilled trash cans but wanted to pray first - Lord, we don't know why this happened today, but we know that you have a reason...was the weirdest.) Current Religious Neighbor always has a way of finding some religious meaning in my behavior and it is in a non-threatening way. So now when I get dressed to ride my bike to work I can be rest assured that God is pleased with my modest biking attire.
Yesterday evening I was cleaning a shelf in the yard when my Pit Bull neighbor came by. (He is not to be confused with Pit Bull Neighbor Who Chains the Dog to the Wall all Night and Lets it Bark. He's just Pit Bull Guy.) He's friendly and in control of his dog, and I know him because he exercises his dog multiple times a day and practices obedience lessons in their yard. So he came by yesterday when I was in the front yard and he had his Pit Bull and a new dog - a silly, fluffy white dog who jumps around. And he was in control of both of the dogs who are so different. He was correcting silly, jumpy dog and controlling pit bull dog, and making eye contact with me. "Hello," he said. "Your dogs are so different," I observed. He smiled and said, "They get along," and they went on down the sidewalk. And that's when I realized that Cesar Milan's cousin lives on my block.
I have been biking to work and I have been changing the way that I think about biking. Inspired by pictures from Amsterdam, I have been riding in whatever I plan to wear to work (office casual most days). So skirts and sandals usually. A safety pin between the knees works fine to keep my skirt down. I am riding a women's 3 speed, so I am sitting upright. I enjoy being able to cruise into work in less than ten minutes. I certainly feel more relaxed than I do in my car.
Yesterday I ran into my neighbor coming home from work on her bike. She noted how brave I was for wearing a skirt. I laughed and told her that it was actually quite comfortable and that now that I was used to it, I preferred it because I didn't have to let my transportation dictate my outfit for the day. "And it's more modest than what I am wearing," she observed as she gestured at her tank top and shorts. Why yes, I guess it is, I thought. I have always had religious neighbors for some reason. (The neighbor who helped me pick up my spilled trash cans but wanted to pray first - Lord, we don't know why this happened today, but we know that you have a reason...was the weirdest.) Current Religious Neighbor always has a way of finding some religious meaning in my behavior and it is in a non-threatening way. So now when I get dressed to ride my bike to work I can be rest assured that God is pleased with my modest biking attire.
Yesterday evening I was cleaning a shelf in the yard when my Pit Bull neighbor came by. (He is not to be confused with Pit Bull Neighbor Who Chains the Dog to the Wall all Night and Lets it Bark. He's just Pit Bull Guy.) He's friendly and in control of his dog, and I know him because he exercises his dog multiple times a day and practices obedience lessons in their yard. So he came by yesterday when I was in the front yard and he had his Pit Bull and a new dog - a silly, fluffy white dog who jumps around. And he was in control of both of the dogs who are so different. He was correcting silly, jumpy dog and controlling pit bull dog, and making eye contact with me. "Hello," he said. "Your dogs are so different," I observed. He smiled and said, "They get along," and they went on down the sidewalk. And that's when I realized that Cesar Milan's cousin lives on my block.
posted by Lea at 5:20 AM
1 Comments:
We don't live in such a funky neighborhood as you do but we do have some interesting neighbors. There's the Just Let That Baby Cry All Night Neighbor across the way. Up stairs we have the Stomp Around Aimlessly All Night and Take Several Showers Between Toilet Flushings Neighbor. There might be a religiously inclined neighbor here, but we don't think Mr. Scary Macho Weapons-To-Go Neighbor goes to Bible Study.
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