It takes a neighborhood ...

We decided to hold our "National Night Out" neighborhood block party a little late. Most were on the 7th of this month. Ours was yesterday, Sunday, the 12th, at the corner of SW 18th and Martha Street. The pavement of the site had been marked in chalk in the month prior to the event (see photo above)

The photos pretty much tell the story. But the story, as you can see from the photos, was full of stories. How long folks have been here. Where they came from. What they do. Where the kids (or grand-kids) are in school. What changes we've seen in the area.

We connected faces with names, and names with houses. In short, many of us became neighbors for the first time.

The trick is to continue the connections. With that in mind, earlier in the week I took a page out of "The Great Neighborhood Book," which I wrote about in my Connection column this month. Inspired by the book, I posted a sign next to a vacant lot. "Neighborhood Board Games, Thursday, 7:30 p.m."

Several people at the block party had seen the sign and vowed to be there. I hope it is the beginning of a neighborhood institution. I'm now thinking that the part of the vacant lot along the street might serve as a neighborhood horseshoe pit.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. For now I'm still assimilating all those great stories, names and faces from Sunday's street potluck.