Love Your Neighbour.
A few weeks ago, when I checked the letterbox, there was a blank postcard waiting for me. It was from the institution known only as Australia Post.
With some art of a bird, and a message about combating depression, it encouraged human connection, for free. Simply write it, and send it, and it would be delivered.
The postcard otherwise blank on the rear, apart from the postcard related things, starts with "Sending you this postcard because I care."
It made me really think about who I really give a shit about. Well, an even smaller subset of people. People I care about, and people who have an address that is known to me.
After some thought, and even less consideration, it was decided that the card would be going through the postal system, through whatever network it would travel through, to our neighbours.
It was sent on the 21st of June. I wrote that it would be a good test of the efficiency of the postal system and while a noble endeavour to cherish others, ultimately, how many tac dollars would this thing cost the nation?
Can you imagine my absolute delight, that a couple of weeks later... I got a reply ... from. ... my .. neighbours - in the very same form of a postcard.
Now, we're not strangers. We have mutual interests - metal music, board games, technology, eating, living, and being fucking excellent neighbours to each other.
So, its even better to get a postcard back from them.
The Postcard
Dear Sender. Oh Joy! Let us confirm we recieved your junk in our mailbox on 27th June. This is not efficient and raises my eyebrows in deep concern. Thus we lodge a new attempt on 28th June.
When the mailman handed me the postcard, I read it eagerly. I laughed, I smiled. They ame through. They're really fucking good people.
That night, I sent my neighbour a text informing them of the ploy. They rang teh bell, excess mushroom gravy in bowl for a makeshift dinner.
Food was eaten, conversation was had.
It is good to have friends as neighbours, and better to have neighbours that are friends.
Even at my old address, I had a wonderful neighbour.
I still visit him. We still talk. Though there is a much larger gulf of years between he and I, we share interests too - sci-fi - dark humor, and a mutual sense of disgust and bewilderment at the rest of the world.
Sometimes, I think good enighbours are more about you than the person who lives on the other side of the fence or wall.
- holoz0r
Comments (3)
Ah we got that postcard too. Went in the bin. Sadly we didn't have anyone we cared about. Ha, clearly not true - just went didn't have anyone's address and anyone we cared THAT much about would be embraced in a RL hug. Had I thought more deeply, I could have written a Hive post about it 🤣😜
Your neighbor/s sound amazing. We live in a court that's rural res - big 5 acre lots, with another 5 acre lot court next to it, both of which join a reserve, so that you can do a twenty minute walk round the 'block' partly on the reserve. We don't know any of our neighbors well enough to care about them sadly. All different to us.
I wonder what living in the suburbs would be like, closer to your neighbours. It's been years since I have lived in more built up areas. I like my space, but sometimes think a more friendly neighborhood and a community of neighbours would be lovely. I certainly loved living with people when we lived in the UK squatting land and living in trucks with a heap of other 'new traveller' folk. I'd send them postcards, if we had have kept in touch and if Australia Post would have sent those little blue wrens overseas.
But then the qualms of adding to the world wide traffic would have prevented me doing so anyway. I am not a card sender.
The recycling one, I hope? :P
We've given our neighbours an embrace or two. These are the same neighbours, that when I had my "unemployment" party brought me a card board box with a card, a small bottle of brandy, discount vouchers for the local bottle shop, a few lottery tickets, and various "help needed" signs from the local businesses in the area. They're truly fantastic, and they share so much of our twisted senses of humor.
Our block here is just 225sqm, in a relatively new estate. Our homes are squashed up against each other, Torrens titled, yet joined. Separated by bricks and a layer of expansion foam along the garage and the kitchen / dining room wall. We don't hear them, they don't hear us. Except when we're talking to each other.
We're not usually card senders, and we do a pretty good job of letting people know how we feel about them. Being raised as an only child, the outcome of an arranged marriage, it has taken me a long time to figure out how to do that.
Jamie sorts the recycling, I chuck everything in inside bin and he sorts at the actual bins.
Your neighbors sound like true gems. I agree that social interactions can be a art you have to practice. I'm not that great at it. All my interactions are at ocean edge or in the water. It's a whole thing I should write about. It's definitely where I get my people energy and once I'm too old to surf ill still be there swimming or taking photos or something.
However, if I died no one would know.
Calm down there, Harold Holt. I respect the ocean way too much than to fling myself into it. I was never enrolled in swimming lessons, and beyond having long, scalding showers (where it can sometimes hurt) and soaking in a bath, or pouring it down my gullet to hydrate, I'm not a fan of the water.
My neighbours leave me notes, but they're all about 'dragging down property values' and 'unexplained smells' and 'wasp infestations' and they don't use the Post Office, they have a guy check that I'm me, then hand them to me in person. I'm sure it'll be fine.
They send an emissary!? Their complaints are bitter nothings. Property values only matter if you care about money. Smells are for those with olfactory skills, and wasp infestations are just nature reclaiming what is rightfully hers.
I'm glad they don't use the post office, though Matt, it means these postcards got delivered more efficiently.
Sounds like a fun experiment XD and postcards definitely sound much less efficient than texts (yay technology) or doing whatt you guys did and appearing at the door XD
Good neighbours are great. Our surrounding ones are decent (as in we wave to each other in passing when we see each other, and there's no fear of heads getting bitten off if anyone has to yell over fences or knock on the door for whatever reason). I feel the community around work is that little bit tighter though. Do you have a neighbourhood chat? One of my friends has a Whatsapp or Facebook group (coz they're all on one of those things) for their neighbourhood/street which has helped mitigate a lot of problems they were having.
Yeah, there's a neighbourhood chat. I don't get involved. Too many people whining about things there instead of handling it person to person. If you have a dog barking all day, let your neighbours know its geting bored, or if there's a pile of trash out the front that's annoying you, ask them if they need the spare room in your bin.
(Or report it to council) ;)
Ahh the passive aggressive whining where if they're just non-specific enough hopefully someone will do something or the target will realise it's them with the aim of looking like they're not attacking/accusing anyone but just looking like chronic complainers instead XD
Lots of anonymous posts too :D
Sounding better and better XD