Yesterday evening I went to a neighborhood get-together at our local park. Despite the almost 100-degree heat there was a good turn-out.

I met a young couple who have lived in the same home for 65 years. They bought the lot (for $250) when they married and rented a room nearby while the house was being built. We talked a bit about the history of the neighborhood. I had always thought of it mostly as a post-war development. But it turns out there was more going on before that than I had realized. Something else that I did not know was that the area had been a separate town then with it’s own services.

Another useful bit of information I gleaned - apparently there is a secret path, or an easement, down to the creek below the bluff. From the description of the location I have passed it a thousand times and never seen it. Now I have to go look for it.

They pass our house on their regular walks together, carrying a folding stool for rest stops. I have often observed them, seeing Tricia and me in our twilight years. I hope that we have their energy and openness to strangers when we are that age.