When we lived in Scottsdale, everyone kept their trash cans in their backyards just inside their gates. The trash cans were huge (large enough to fit a dead body, just sayin’) and on wheels. Trash was collected by a single driver in a truck who used a mechanical arm to empty the cans.
Curtis Baldwin was our neighbor to the right of our house. His house was a mirror image of ours, so our fence gates were adjacent to each other. As such, when it was time to return the emptied trash can from the curb to behind the gate, it was easy for me to return mine and then make another pass and also return Curtis’ to behind his gate. Curtis did the same thing for me. Whichever one of us got there first returned both trash cans.
Our local water company published a monthly newsletter that provided tips on water conservation as well as human-interest stories or announcements of community events. One issue featured a contest requesting stories about being neighborly. I decided to enter and started my submission by noting that being neighborly didn’t require grand gestures but could be small. I shared how Curtis and I brought in our trash cans.
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A few weeks passed, and I got a letter in the mail. It was a certificate of appreciation and a check for $50. My submission had won. I wanted Curtis to have them, so I knocked on his door, ready to hand them over. When Curtis answered, he was already holding a certificate and a check. They had also mailed him. We were both winners.
Today in Wildwood at Oakcrest, Robert and Nancy live to our left. The Wongs live to our right. Sometimes when I'm out doing yard work, I will bring their trash cans from the curb to just outside their garage doors. When there’s a chance at being neighborly, there’s no contest.