Building community one trash can at a time . . .

A post that should have gone up in January:

It was night-time and my friend needed to go home, so we hopped into the green car and warmed up the engine. Backing out of the yellow house's long driveway at 30 mph to avoid ice and a mile long train of cars, we found ourselves careening into one of the trash cans of our across the street neighbors. That's right, the neighbors who always seem to have the cops over, the bleak, once-white house with the precariously hung red-light that sputters and flickers above the screen door at night. The impact with the trash bin caused quite a bit of noise whilst bottles and empty boxes shot out and landed on solid-frozen slush. With a groan, I pulled over.

We righted the can which had fallen over and then picked our way through the snow and ice to replace the trash back into its receptacle. As we were doing so, one of the tenants emerged, leaving the front door open with the screen door swinging shut behind him. I could see his silhouette against the yellow fluorescent light burning in the kitchen as he rubbed his left arm and walked toward us. He wore a half-opened plaid button-up and jeans. We explained what had happened and he thanked us for taking the trouble of putting it all back. Little was said after that and we all labored in the dimness till we were finished. At last the two of us continued on our way.

Interesting the small everyday events that bring us into contact with people with whom we never would otherwise have any interaction. I couldn't help but think of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird rolling inside a tire that landed in the Radley's front yard and the laughter issuing from behind the curtained window. Who would ever have thought that running into someone's property could actually build camaraderie?