Neighborhood Junkies

Mastin Street is a great place to live, especially this time of year. The leaves are changing colors, not too many leaves are falling, Team Merriam just swept the leaves off the street, and the smell of revival is in the air.

We like our little street. We find it hard not to look out the window when we hear loud noises. It may be Jim's daily project of blowing leaves for himself and the two widows' yards, or it could be the local fire truck that intentionally comes down our street in order to wave at their off duty fireman buddy Tonka Sean three doors up. It may be Tom's muffler on the truck, or my hawg for that matter. It could be the sound of the saw coming from Del's work shop, or the new construction company using front loaders to make the patio for Tom's neighbor. It could be the bus at 3:20pm sharp on weekdays, or the A-1 trash man at 8am Wednesdays. (I've noticed that several more people have signed up for A-1 trash.)

And of course who can forget the sounds of the train, a signal to take 75th St instead of 67th if you're getting in the car - that coal train is long and slow. After school, the kids screaming outside is Robin, as she plays on the swing set that seems to be in a different location of their back yard all the time - not sure if that's safe! If it's a dog, Guppy's is the persistent, quieter bark ... while Guiness is the loud infrequent barker. The high-pitched "Guiness!" is Julie yelling at him to get back in his own yard, or to quit pooping in ours.

Anyhow, since I've mentioned several characters on our side of the tracks already, I'll introduce you to a few more. When they get saved, they'll feel even more like family ... so I thought you should at least know their names.

There's Airstream Gary, who used to typically have his huge Airstream (a silver bullet looking RV) parked in the front drive. Don't forget Tonka Shawn, who has a huge custom truck for shows in his drive, with Tonka written on the back. You can hardly take a walk without running into Army Ed. He likes to talk about semi-spiritual things now that he knows I'm in the ministry. Joy is the newest on the block, and she likes yardwork and having the grandkids over to play and spend the night.

Elmer (no adjective needed with a swiggin' name like that) has lived here since the beginning about 40 years ago - but he's moving to a semi-retirement village with his wife. Their moving truck was there today I think. Great deal on a house - just needs a little updating. Or Elmer's neighbor who foreclosed awhile back, but that house may need more than a little facelift. Down the road a bit is Heather, who teaches school ... but she doesn't want to have kids yet! Her husband must be an introvert, as he seems to sneak inside the house without looking at me even though I'm walking right past.

Cathy walks her dog every night, and sometimes she has a second dog with her ... which we think is because she helps house stray dogs or something. Harley Todd behind us may be moving, but he offered to fix my hawg anytime I needed help. And he likes to offer you a beer on the weekend. The other guy in the neighborhood who has a hawg, can't think of his name but he likes to wave when I'm on mine, is Lars' dad. Lars came down for Harrison's hot tub party last summer. Next to Harley Todd is Guiness Tom, co-owner of the famous pooper, and unfortunately he had a stroke recently. I'm pretty sure his daughter Julie stays home with him now instead of teaching school.

How could I forget the faithfulness of Mailman Tom. He likes to smile and offer a loud, "See you later!" If you were wondering who that strange guy walking next to Mailman Tom was the other day, it was USPS "quality control." I asked Mailman Tom if he was making sure he put the mail in the right slot, but he didn't think that was funny. Lance likes to sit on his back porch and listen to classic rock, and he helped me trim a tree once when I almost killed myself. Randy next door to me just used his new leaf vacuum to clear most of the leaves off my front yard. Tim likes to sit out back and have a smoke, while Brad likes to keep his Christmas lights up all year. Did you know Brad and Tim and their wives go out for dinner sometimes?

I like to take walks in our neighborhood instead of the trails, which is how I've accumulated a lot of my neighborhood junkie expertise. Brent is the 6 year old behind us that will talk your ear off, but his jokes are pretty good for a kid his age. Robin is in 1st grade, and she likes me to stop so she can see if Noah's asleep or not. Allen Troyer, former Merriam city councilman lives on my route, and he typically just gives a wave. And last but certainly not least is dear little old Lorine, the widow on the corner who rakes her leaves every day. She's got a lot of energy.

It's a good street ... you should check us out sometime.