TheBanyanTree: The Man Next Door

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I didn’t see my next door neighbor all winter.  The last time I saw him was
on Christmas when we were both shoveling the sidewalks.

He’s an older guy, probably around 70 or so, and he lives alone.  I think
he’s widowed or divorced.  He does have a daughter who lives in a nearby
suburb.  I know he sees her regularly, and that’s why I didn’t call the
police or anything.  If he died in his house, his daughter would have found
out.

But I did worry.  Did he have cancer?  A stroke?  He smokes like a chimney
and has a horrible hacking cough.

After a while, I saw his daughter coming over the house.  I’ve met her
previously, but I was too shy to shout out to her.  I figured he was OK, or
otherwise they wouldn’t let him live at home alone.  And I was glad his
daughter came over every day to check on him.  By the way, his daughter is a
nurse.

A few weeks later, I saw him outside with a walker.  Then a few weeks after
that, I saw him driving.

When I was cutting my grass yesterday, I also cut his front yard.  I hadn’t
seen him in a while and I didn’t even know if he was home, but I thought our
front yards are so small, that it wasn’t a whole lot of extra effort on my
part to cut his grass, too.


But today, I saw him outside after I got home from the hardware store.  And
this time, I called out to him.  He was thinner and had grown a beard.  But
he smiled and seemed glad to say hello.

He had fallen on the ice in his driveway shortly after Christmas and broken
his hip.  I asked him how he got help and he told me that some people
passing the house saw him and called 911.  He said it took a while for his
hip to heal and then he had to spend a few weeks in rehab getting physical
therapy.  He told me that he was still in pain, especially when he got up in
the morning.

Usually this time of year, he would be teasing me about planting my garden.
He was always way ahead of me in gardening.  His whole yard would be full of
hanging flower baskets.  He liked to sit out in the yard on nice evenings
and smoke.  I haven’t seen him do any of these things this spring.

We chatted for a bit.  His daughter had her baby two days ago, a boy.  Now
she has a boy and a girl and he said she didn’t want any more kids.

I’m glad he’s OK.  I hope he’ll feel well enough to enjoy this summer.

See, I don’t hate all my neighbors.  Just the drunken ones.

Our incredible spring continues.  Everything is turning green – I love all
the shades of green this time of year.

Joe and I went to the cemetery yesterday evening and when we were driving
back, we saw herds of deer alongside the highway as well as lots of wild
turkeys.  It was quite a sight.

I went to workout this morning and got in a good heart thumping, sweaty
cardio session.  I sat in the sauna for a while.

Then I went to the hardware store along with everyone else and bought dirt
for the garden as well as potting soil and new lawn chairs for the deck.

Joe and I are going to get together at his new apartment, which absolutely
beautiful, I’m so glad he moved there, and it’s still the same distance from
me as the old one, and watch some hoops this evening.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com
www.polarispublications.com
www.linkedin.com/in/margaretkramer

Within you I lose myself...
Without you I find myself
Wanting to be lost again.  
-Author Unknown