Comments on: Trust Me

By: Deanne

Deanne — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:01:42 +0000

You seem to have a wonderful life. You may not be fully appreciating that, although you did go through an unpleasant experience, you still had your family beside you, and your discomfort was at least indoors in an otherwise comfortable home.

And you might also be overlooking that the “something else” could have been that while your neighbors all had power, power may have been ALL they had at that time. We often think that those around us are leading lives that are running merrily along. Sometimes folks are so preoccupied with just getting by, that they’re oblivious to the world beyond their own walls. Behind those doors could be sadness, health woes, money worries, family dysfunction, or other neighbors who are also wondering why there is no sense of community anymore.

Nowadays– it’s true– you’re bound to have an apathetic neighbor or two. “Trust” that other neighbors will join you in revitalizing the neighborhood’s sense of community to be what you all want it to be.

If anyone can do it, it’s you. You’re Mr. Billingsley!

By: Chris Billingsley

Chris Billingsley — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 13:20:56 +0000

I’m not exactly sure what “social trust” is but the question of whether you trust your Decatur neighbors (to help in an emergency) is an interesting one. My guess is that most of the readers of this blog would like to think we live in a city where people would come to the aid of their neighbor in an emergency but I am no longer sure this would happen. There needs to be something more to unite us besides participating in the beer festivals or cheering on nameless marathon runners. The ties that truly bind us to one another are the neighborhood children who grow up with our own and the long-term relationships you build by attending a local church. Without these and other fundamental experiences, most of us have no real connection with a neighborhood.
A somewhat recent experience makes me question the “social trust” of the neighborhood I live it. During one of the coldest weeks of the previous year, a tree fell in my neighborhood, knocking out power to only my home. For 36 hours, my family was without electricity- no heat, no stove, and no hot water. Except for the Georgia Power workers, who were our real heroes during this time, no one came by to check on us, even thought our house was dark throughout the night. My wife and I have discussed whether we have failed to build the important bridges between our neighbors over the last twenty years or whether is it something else. Would your Decatur neighbors come to your aid or do you have to depend on your “God, Guns, and Guts” to save you? Thank goodness my wife and I have all three.

By: Deanne

Deanne — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:13:21 +0000

I would use the Oscar to clock him upside the head!

By: Brianc

Brianc — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:49:51 +0000

This is the sort of question you’d expect to find in Parade magazine. But since he posed it, I’d take the Oscar over Jesse James without hesitation. Hurt fades, but she will always be the least deserving Oscar winner since Marisa Tomei.

By: Brianc

Brianc — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:39:19 +0000

How is “neighbor defined?” Next door? Same street? Same neighborhood? I’d vote yes on the first two, no on the last.