How to be a good neighbor
The steamy dog days of summer used to bring on what reporters called the silly season, when real news was hard to find and lighter fare took over the pages and the airwaves. This year, we seem to be skipping the dog days altogether, and there's no sign of the news break that once coincided with the vacations of politicians and other serious newsmakers.
Still, we hear of a few stories that almost fit the mold. Let's not call them silly - the current term is "talkers," news items that whet headline writers' appetites and draw plenty of comments on news outlets' Web sites.
Yet, two local examples that come to mind raise a real issue, one that's at the heart of our communities. It has to do with neighborliness, or more specifically, finding sane, civil ways to resolve disagreements with our neighbors.
Lakemoor's potty planters are our first example. Tina Asmus made them out of white porcelain toilets, with begonias and other blooms in the bowls and a halo of hostas in one tank. She put them in her front yard, along with a bathroom sink also filled with flowers. Issued a ticket for violating a local ordinance meant to keep junk out of yards, Asmus says she's going to court to keep her planters. (Drawn into the bathroom fixture fracas, the owner of a Lakemoor bathtub planter opted to enclose it in a wooden box.)
Our second example is a Wheaton block party organizer's idea to honor the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music fest by inviting seven bands to perform and much of the city to attend. Some of the Indiana Street residents objected, and the matter went to the Wheaton City Council.
A closer look shows both issues have deeper roots. Asmus hints at an ongoing feud with the sign in front of one of her toilet planters. "God bless my neighbors," it says, replacing an earlier sign that village officials say declared "Beware of neighbors." In Wheaton, the block-party flap also builds on a standing dispute among neighbors.
While a town has to enforce its laws, it shouldn't have to settle petty arguments. Wouldn't it be better if neighbors handled disagreements in a civil way? If they went together to local officials with a solution, assuming those local officials needed to be involved at all?
It's not only an ideal, it's an obligation for anyone interested in building the type of community where we want to live.
The first step can be hard. Unless you feel it's unsafe, approach your neighbor and try to calmly talk out the problem on your own. Plenty of online tools provide a script. A good one by the city of Vancouver, Wash., is at www.cityofvancouver.us. Click on the "our community" tab and go to community mediation, then conflict resolution tools.
While those lazy days of summer might seem a bit obsolete, neighborliness isn't. Give it a try, and beginning this summer, your neighborhood might feel a lot warmer.