TGIF... NIGHT
Bob and Deb.
Weeks ago, they, while committed to activism of a nature other than political, insisted I mark my calendar with an "O."
No, not overstock.com.
No, not a date ruled by a basal thermometer.
THE O.
The "O" Street Summer Block Party!
SO, last night, calendar still O'd, went On Over.
To those of us living on "B," "E," "I" or any other sprawler in The Avenues, "O" Street is wonderfully compact: BOrdered to NOrth and SOuth by The City Cemetery and SOuth Temple, respectively. SO the concept of a blOck party for these fOlks? WOnderfully intimate. Old-school neighbOrhOOd.
Nice.
Tish and Dave, 20-year-plus residents of The Ave's are the grand marshalls of this annual event. Why? Tish attributes it to the fact that the concrete space in front of their home makes for the best "barbecue central" and adjacent open-air dining area. But anyone that knows them (Or, in the case of me, anyone who does not know them) immediately recognizes that they are incredibly neighborly folks.
Example:
I tentatively (does not SOUND like me, right?) enter the party environment, enjoying watching kids zig-zagging through the blocked-off street on scooters; couples old and young alike--seated together, bonding all the more as neighbors, in the joy of food; barbys and barbies alike... Summer!
I am greeted by a few folks, and tell them I am looking for Bob and Deb, who have invited me to the gig. Dropping what they were doing, they escort me to Tish. "Madame Organizer," is the smiling, twinkling tribute Tish receives from her neighbor Diana. Tish proceeds to tell me about the neighborhood--this party and the holiday progressive potluck held in wintertime. Her hubby, Dave, talks to the history of the neighborhood and respective ages of the homes and the sense of comfort they all enjoy.
They do not have a "Neighborhood Watch" program: They all are the Neighborhood Watch, operating, village-like, for the best interests of all. This night, though, they do not watch Bob and Deb, my friends, who are nowhere to be seen, let alone watched. Bob and Deb, who invited this interloper-neighbor who, through the grace of Dave and Tish and Dianna and others has been made to feel as if she lived right on the corner of 3rd and "O."
When I tell her how I like the feel of their neighborhood, Tish also mentions neighborhoods on "R" Street and on 18th Avenue as echoing the character of "O." A few other neighbors mention the gratitude of my stopping by their party. In fact, they expressed feeling almost honored by the "public appearance" from a candidate for Salt Lake City District 3 City Council! Nice... Nice, too, that one of the neighbors mentions having now actually met and discussed issues with four of the candidates. While there? Jennifer J. Johnson is even given a job--dispensing glow sticks to youth. I do a good, if not great job at it, until I become embroiled in conversation and need to be "assisted." Assisted... it takes a village... or an "O" Street.
At four blocks from North to South, "O"...
SCREETCH...
I am about to wax a bit too poetic.
I would love any contributions to conclude this ongoing story of "O."
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