Love Where You Live

Part IV

Say Hi to your neighbor

June of 1980 I spent two weeks in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, working on my Doctor of Ministry degree from Mccormick Theological Seminary. I took the opportunity to visit the campus of the University of Chicago, take a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Frederick C. Robie House, browse a used book store, eat at a restaurant that only served quiches and visit the Oriental Institute Museum. As I walked around the area I found a community garden that had been an empty lot and well-kept and attractive homes.

At the time Hyde Park was the safest neighborhood in all of Chicago. In many of the widows of the houses I passed as I went from where I was staying to Mccormick I could see “Neighborhood Watch Community” signs in the windows. The people in Hyde Park had banded together to help various police forces keep their community safe. The residents made a point of knowing what was going around them and keeping track of anything that was out of the ordinary.

Melody Warnick in her book, This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are, points out that one’s first intimate contact with a new place is the neighborhood where one’s residence is located. If persons are going to like where they live it is important that they love or at least like their own neighborhood. In her chapter “Say Hi To Your Neighbor” Melody talks about “neighborhood cohesion.” “Neighborhood Social Cohesion” is the trusting network of relationships and shared values and norms of residents in a neighborhood. Positive neighborhood cohesion has a direct correlation to one’s physical and emotional health, parenting skills, and reduction of stress. Warnick says such cohesion can be a wonder drug for many ills.

For me the “Neighborhood Watch Community” signs I saw in Hyde Park were an indication of strong neighborhood cohesion. By all accounts Hyde Park in the 1980’s was a wonderful place to live where one could find a conducive atmosphere which stimulated physical and emotion health and reduced the stresses of life. No wonder so many people found it a place where they could have a sense of belonging and strong place attachment.

When Diane and I were looking for a place to live when I retired, our real estate agent showed us three houses on a dead end boulevard where we now live. One had a very interested inner construction. We knew the previous owner of a second. The third house we purchased. When we were in negotiations and when we closed the seller shared with us something of the history of the house and of the street. Most of the houses on the street had been built in 1960’s and 1970’s. We very quickly got to know the lady to our north because we had a shared garden and both of us liked to work outside. When I joined ROTARY I learned that one of my neighbors was a long time member. He also made great maple syrup. My initial impression of my neighborhood was favorable and I scored high if I would have taken a neighborhood cohesion test.

After more than 16 years I know most of people on my boulevard by sight and some by name. It has been interesting to watch what the latest occupant of the interesting house we looked at has done with it. Great job!!! When I put my steps in for the day by walking around the boulevard I am able to keep up with what is happening in the neighborhood. I will say “hello” to the people I meet. When I am working in the front yard I will wave at passing cars and speak to persons who walkby. Even though we do not have any formal gathering, I feel a strong attachment to my neighborhood and the people who live there.

For me any discussion about the importance of neighbors needs to take in regards Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. “Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher.’ He said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, ‘What is written in the law?

What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’”

“But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down the road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. The he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ he said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37)

The lawyer, the priest and the Levite had an exclusive view of who was one’s neighbor. For them neighbors were people from their own class, looked like them, and had the same social status as them. Everyone else was excluded. The Samaritan and Jesus had an inclusive view. More specifically, a neighbor is anyone we might meet who has a need that we might help.

My house was one of those affected by the flood of 2018. We had 18” of water in the basement. Dine and I were the neighbors in need. The Plymouth community came together, not only to help us, but others who were affected by the flood. As a result there was a surge in neighborhood cohesion. We were all in this together: the affected and the unaffected.

A sure way to increase your place attachment is by getting to know the people who live in your neighborhood and see every one you meet as a potential neighbor.