"Like to shovel?" I shouted out to him with a smile.
"You should make your boyfriend help you!" he replied with a chuckle.
Good idea in theory.
Our interaction was brief and I thought to myself, I really need to get to know my neighbors. I've been in my apartment for about one year and this has yet to happen.
Growing up, I was always the daring one within my circle of friends. Unlike others, I was willing to talk to strangers, willing to eat the ice cream covered in ketchup during a game of "Truth or Dare", or willing to be the one to prank call the "Hooked on Phonics" line claiming I had a child that needed their services. As I became a teenager, my boldness translated into creating parking spaces as my friends grimaced (for the record, I never got a ticket for this) and informing Taco Bell that it was my 21st birthday. Shouldn't that warrant a free lunch? I thought so. I was joking, but managed to score a free lunch anyway.
In retrospect, I think I got this humorous confidence from my dad. He was and is always joking around with people he barely knows. I remember him coming home one day telling me about a humorous encounter with some Amish kids in the grocery store line. He ended up buying them ice cream and milk because they were short on cows. I mean, cash. My dad was always using his humor and extrovertedness <--- (yes, I make up words) to serve those in his immediate surroundings. This was the kind of person I wanted to be.
Lately, I feel compelled to intentionally reach out to those around me, the people that I may typically ignore because I'm so preoccupied with my day and what I need to accomplish. I think about all the people I encounter in a day that I barely take time to notice: the man in the gas station, the waitress serving food, the person sitting alone in church, my new co-worker, my neighbors...
Today, with Hurricane Irene being her crazy self, I couldn't help but think of how nice it would be to know my neighbors in a time like this. What if my house flooded and I needed a place to stay? Would baking my neighbors cookies permit me to sleep on their floor? What if I was getting washed down the street in flood waters? Wouldn't it be nice to know someone in the area could identify my body? Or someone that would have an inner tube that I could borrow?
It shouldn't take an emergency to propel us to get to know our neighbors and it shouldn't be about our needs. We should get to know our neighbors and care for them because that is what Jesus calls us to do. The people that we feel we have insignificant interactions with are significant beings. Like us, they were made in God's image and God calls us to love and serve them.
Mr. Rogers was an excellent example of a neighbor. He was always asking nicely if someone would be his neighbor. Not only did he ask nicely but he would ask you through song. Amazing. Then, when he invited you into his house he would modestly change into a cardigan and loafers in front of you. I don't know if he ever actually did this, but I bet he would loan you his cardigan or loafers if you asked him. He let you into his home, his wardrobe, his trolley tunnel, and his imagination. He even kind of shared his pet fish. By the end of the day, Mr. Rogers was truly your neighbor.
Mr. Rogers would give you the cardigan off his back.
These days, I think it would be borderline creepy of me to invite my neighbor over, change into a cardigan, show him a trolley, and then ask him to be my neighbor (especially since he already is my neighbor). However, I think there is something to be said about the Mr. Rogers standard.
As an adult, I want to use my humor and confidence in approaching strangers to get to know my neighbors and truly serve them. It's time we develop our talents and skills and use them to serve those around us. Mr. Rogers was on to something, creepy song, cardigans and all.
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