Bullets and Beers and the 'Burbs

In the late 90's we lived on a quiet street in a quiet town.. and we had some great neighbours.  Don and Judy were already there when we moved into our first home.  It wasn't long before Don and I would be outside on the weekend or any other evening for that matter, trying to get the grass cut or a door painted and fail miserably...Don was the master of having a drink in one hand and the garden hose in the other putting out the inferno in his BBQ.  Everything turned into a 6 beer job.

Then Ray and Michelle moved in next to Don and Judy, taking over the house from the strange guy who used to shovel the snow off his lawn... and the momentum grew.  You'd never know which backyard, front porch or kitchen you'd end up in.. it just happened spontaniously and everyone got along beyond expectations.  It was a magical thing to watch... 6 strangers becoming neighbours and friends.

There was a 4th neighbour.. quiet family, never really joined in and never complained about our shenanigans.

After a few years, Don and his growing family moved to a bigger home only a few minutes away, we did the same soon after. Ray and Michelle stayed in the 'hood.  As it always seems to happen, we started to lose touch.  Shame really.  Then, one day near the end of the summer of 2004 a man was killed by a police sniper in downtown Toronto during a hostage taking.

Things like that didn't normally happen in Toronto and after the papers had more information and pictures were published, it was my wife who recognized the man as our former fourth neighbour.  Calls were made, disbelief was shared and we all ended up in Don's backyard for an evening... remembering.

It's sad to think that the rekindling of our friendships had to be motivated by a rifle.

Tonight is another gathering at our house... this time with no tragic event needed to spur it on.  We're a little older, hopefully wiser and some of our kids have been watched going from diapers to University.

Look around you... acquaintances are many, friends are few and like good food and good wine, being good friends takes a little work.... but in the end everything tastes just a bit sweeter.