Here's an update on the Neighbor With Whom We Used to
Share the Same Bus Stop.
A couple of months ago, the father told me that he was concerned about his ability to walk his child across the street to our bus stop in the winter when the snow would line the streets. A few days later he told me he called the bus company and they said they would stop at his house, which is across the street to the house right next door to ours.
So when I noticed that they were waiting at the end of their driveway, I decided we would walk to our next door neighbor's driveway and wait there, right across the street from them. That way the bus would stop only one time in a fifty yard span.
A few days after that, we had heavy rain. We have no sidewalks, and the thin grass along the side of the road was wet and muddy. As well, there was a steady enough stream of cars on the road, so I didn't see a big enough window of opportunity to walk on the road to the other stop until the bus came and stopped traffic for us. Then we walked. But the bus driver said that we didn't have to walk -- he would've stopped for us at our driveway.
When the temperatures got near freezing, our neighbor started to drive his daughter to the end of their driveway. They would wait in the running car, a 4x4 pickup, actually. I've seen other parents do that, and then they would drive away after their children would get out to get on the bus. But our neighbor doesn't do that. After getting out to help his daughter cross the street, he gets the newspaper, gets back in the car, and then
drives back to his house. This happens on perfectly dry days with his driveway free of any ice.
This guy apparently isn't on good terms with cold weather. He owns the only snowblower I've seen that has a cab you can ride in. I watched him use it this morning during the near two I hours I spent shoveling my driveway. I watched him not approach me and not offer to clear the bottom of my driveway where the street plow left a dense ridge brown-tinged snow. I watched him drive away in his pickup truck about thirty minutes later, giving his horn a cheerful honk and waving at me.
I can allow myself to seethe with resentment and some disgust over what I perceive to be laziness and wastefulness. But I won't. Instead I tell myself that the man may have a medical condition that forces him to limit his exposure to cold air.
It may be freezing outside, but this season's first snowfall warmed my heart. That's because our sulking, pre-teen daughter regressed to the happiness of early childhood by going outside to throw snow at the dog. She's done that every winter since she was four years old. She has fun, and the dog loves it, too! Welcome home, baby girl!
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