The Isolation Journals - Day 32

Today's prompt was inspired by Mr. Rogers.  I imagine he'd be thoroughly disgusted by my thoughts on neighbors.

Prompt:  What does it mean to be a neighbor? Have there been moments where you fell short of your ideal? And then the opposite—where have you seen people step forward as the world stepped back? Start today’s entry with: “Dear Neighbor.” Tell them about what you’ve witnessed and the kind of community you’d like to build.

*Bonus points if you actually send a letter to a neighbor*

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Dear Neighb,

We've had our share of colorful neighbors over the years.  The guy upstairs who got high and flooded our kitchen.  The guy in Idaho who was always reading in his hammock and asking, "What's up, neighbs?"  (I liked that guy).  The couple above us in Jersey who used to come home with their arms full of cheesesteaks, passing by our window on their way upstairs.  Within minutes, they'd be having ceiling-shattering sex, and one can only assume the cheesesteaks were part of the foreplay.

There was the guy behind us in Utah who lived with an apparent harem of women, who would spend all evening in a lawn chair, wearing overalls and no shirt, chain smoking and texting with the sound on.  The mom in Utah who used to lock her tantrum-throwing 3-year-old outside in winter.  The guy in South Carolina who was never not on his back patio, yelling at someone on the phone late into the night, both sides of the conversation carrying straight into our bedroom.

There are the people here, across the street, who are constantly in various states of undress or straight up getting it on with their blinds wide open.  Not mad at it, but I feel like a lech whenever I catch an eyeful and I don't need that on my conscience.

Why am I telling you all this, neighbor?  It's because I want you to understand how low the bar has been set by your predecessors.  And you, neighbor, have leapt over it.  Despite living next door to you for two years, I have never laid eyes on you, nor heard one peep through our shared wall.  You're the best neighbor I've ever had.

I've spent more total time at home in this apartment in the last month than in the previous two years, probably.  Of all the possible sources of stress in my life right now, thank you for not being one of them.  If our frequent yelling or blasting of Spanish-language documentaries should ever be a hindrance to the peaceful enjoyment of your domicile, please feel free to slip a totally bitchy, passive aggressive note under our door.  

I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.

Sincerely,

Katie