Neighborhood Knocking: 78 Doors

I knocked on 78 doors in our neighborhood yesterday. It was hot and tiring, but I came home inspired. Sure, to some I had to diffuse the idea that I was selling something, which is natural when somebody comes to the door, but by in large, there were so many great conversations with fellow neighbors and the vision for a common place like this was well received. I really get the sense that so many of us really care about this neighborhood and we want to individually see change. It's just a matter of being able to come together and make that happen. The ideas of resurrecting a Neighborhood Watch, a block party in the Summer, and a blog in particular seemed to go over well. An idea of using the Block Party as a fundraiser for cancer research was even suggested, which I thought was a pretty cool idea. So we shall see.

Like many of us talked about, having an on-line forum like this is a great idea and I think many of us agree. But what will make it step away from being a great idea to being a great reality will be neighbor's signing up for the e-mail list and subscribing to this blog (and hey, if anyone wants to contribute on the blog too, great). That's the deal. If we can communicate quickly and readily about issues, then we have power. If not, then this is just a good idea never put into action.

Case-in-point: Yesterday a neighbor on Croydon told me that he saw a man parked on our street in his blue-ish van, which then began to drive away at 5mph. While proceeding down Croydon then, the driver lit up his crack pipe while behind the wheel. That's bothersome to me because he felt that it was okay to do that on our street, as if he had permission in our neighborhood to behave as such, as if it was simply okay and acceptable for him to do so. Well, it's not!!! So let's be on the look out and have cell phones ready to call the cops when we see that sort of thing (NOTE: please know that I abhor how the media attempts to scare us with stories and evoke fear in our lives, as if we should succumb to a lifestyle of being afraid. "I don't subscribe to that point of view" (okay, that was a line from a Police song in the 80s). This blog will never be a fear center, but a truth teller and a community action forum. I'm simply telling a story that boiled my blood a little bit yesterday and I'm ready to take some action in our n-hood.)

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