Neighborly rambling

July 18, 2018

Who?  Who are the people in your neighborhood?  In your neighborhood?  In your neighborhoooood?

Well, they’re the people that you meet each day, I guess.  

But that is only part of the equation.  What is your neighborhood?  And, more generally, what is a neighborhood?

I have been thinking about neighborhoods a lot lately for the following reasons:

1.    Snot Jr. asked me the other day, “How many neighborhoods are there in the world?”

2.    An article in the local newspaper mentioned neighborhoods.  

3.    Mr. Rogers has been in the news lately because he is the subject of a retrospective documentary.

4.    I wore this shirt that I got in Seattle, a city, as I understand it, that is famous for its neighborhoods.

More thoughts on each item below:

1.  I am not sure how he came up with this question, but I was intrigued.  I estimated thusly:  10 million. At about 8 billion people, that is about 800 people per neighborhood.  I guess that may be reasonable.  Some neighborhoods have 1 person (like in some counties in Wyoming), some neighborhoods might have a couple tens of thousands (like Sasazuka [a district of Shibuya], in Tokyo).  

2.  In the newspaper article, the subject was how people on both sides of 72nd Street rarely venture onto the other side.  One of the subjects of the story mentioned that he lived out here in the ‘burbs of Omaha for awhile and felt a sense of “meh”-ness towards the city.  But then he moved east of 72^ndStreet and he realized that what he had been missing were, as you may have guessed, neighborhoods!  I think I understand what he is getting at, it was pretty obvious that I lived in the Field Club neighborhood when I lived over on 39^thand Center (after consulting Wikipedia, I realize I didn’t actually live in the exclusive Field Club neighborhood, I was just in the classic Hanscom Park neighborhood). Now that I am a suburbanite, I had to consider for a bit before I decided that I consider my neighborhood to be the Walnut Grove Park neighborhood.  However, the online post-board Next Door categorized me as a member of the Colonies neighborhood, which I think of as more of a subdivision. So there you have it. Neighborhoods out here in the suburbs may be a bit more subjective and amorphous.  And there’s not a whole lot of defining character per suburban neighborhood.  I just thought of what defines my neighborhood to me, which is the enjoyable nearby park.  

3.  Mr. Rogers has been in the news lately because there is a recent documentary about him called Won’t you be my Neighbor?  There is also a Korn song that blames Mr. Rogers for making him trust neighbors that weren’t really trustworthy.  Well, I guess Mr. Rogers isn’t for everyone.  And TV isn’t a substitute for a parent or mentor.  I had a generally favorable impression of Mr. R.  

4.  Seattle seems big, but there aren’t quite as many big streets/highways and interstates as some big cities I’ve been in.  The interstates kind of seem to divide cities and make them less neighborly.  The neighborhood I hung out in is called Pinehurst.  Or maybe Northgate.  Anyway, it is great!  There’s even a little park right around the corner.  And lots of really good restaurants.  Like this Thai restaurant.

So that’s a summary of the neighborhood items I’ve recently been considering.  Here are some definitions of a neighborhood:  

1.    the area or region around or near some place or thing; vicinity:the kids of the neighborhood; located in the neighborhood of Jackson and Vine streets.

2.    a district or locality, often with reference to its character or inhabitants:a fashionable neighborhood; to move to a nicer neighborhood.

3.    a number of persons living near one another or in a particular locality:The whole neighborhood was there.

(dictionary.com)

Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition, but the following may serve as a starting point: "Neighbourhood is generally defined spatially as a specific geographic area and functionally as a set of social networks. Neighbourhoods, then, are the  spatial units in which face-to-face social interactions occur—the personal settings and situations where residents seek to realise common values, socialise youth, and maintain effective social control."

(Wikipedia)

Alright.  The #1 definition seems reasonable - the wiki about Seattle neighborhoods mentioned that many neighborhoods developed due to, and shared names with, their local elementary school.  Most of those other definitions seem a bit vague.  I think I know of several rather concrete neighborhoods in Omaha. You’ve got the Field Club neighborhood, the Hanscom Park neighborhood, and the Elmwood Park neighborhood.  I think Dundee and Benson are considered neighborhoods, although formerly towns.   Wikipedia lists 87 or 88 Omaha neighborhoods, although I don’t really think LaVista is a neighborhood.  So in Omaha, there might be roughly 400,000 people / 100 neighborhoods = 4,000 people per neighborhood?  Or are there that many neighborhoodless individuals out there!?   If Omaha’s an average city, which it could be, at least in the Us of A, then that would mean 8 billion / 4,000 = only 2 million neighborhoods in the world!?   Rubbish, methinks!  Wikipedia can’t really delve into the identities of individuals and group them into cohesive social units! That is for us to decide!  Now I will just let everyone know about the Walnut Grove Park neighborhood, hold a few discussion groups, and crown myself absolute ruler! Wikipedia’s wisdom not withstanding, I’m pretty sure we could really have at least 200 neighborhoods, which would mean about 4 million neighborhoods in the world.  Our population density here in the Homaha is relatively low, so I think we could easily allow 2,000 people or less per hood.  No need to crowd. I’ll be sending out a few questionnaires which I entreat you to return in a timely, and neighborly, fashion. Then I will start a new website called World Neighbor to get a few of my tendrils on the pulses of worldwide neighborhoods to get this all sorted out!  As I am sure you are aware, neighborhoods are best explored by bicycle (if you want to take in more than a few), or on foot (for slightly less than a few).  If you want to take in exactly a few, you might consider a scooter, rollerblades, or a moving elliptical machine/bike-thing like I saw a few weeks ago on a local multi-use trail.

In the meantime, I decided to take Snot Jr. with me to the Dundee Theater to view My Neighbor Totoro.  This movie is about bicycling together as a family.  Also about how to ride bikes that are too big for you.  And it is also about Totoro.  Totoro is a great neighbor, although prone to playing a flute in the top of a camphor tree at night.  He (spoiler alert) even helps the protagonist (Satsuki) find her lost younger sister Mei. Sometimes you don't know how great your neighbors are until you're in trouble and they help you out.

In other news, I noticed this lying on the multi-use trail for a couple days. 

Some young literati must have grabbed that up for perusal while out for a jaunt, because it wasn't there on day 3 or so.  Hard Times are something good for our youth to read about since things are comparatively easy for us all these days.  They are especially easy with the help of some good neighbors (or at least vague cooperation and tolerance).

Also, for a vaguely bicycle related observation, for a change---
Dear Heloise,
If you are like me, you might like to eat a PB & J sandwich for lunch almost every day.  And you might like to have an apple with it.  Well can you believe I only recently realized what I could do to ensure my apple's safe arrival in an unbruised state to our lunchy rendezvous after a bicycle ride in my pannier!

Dear Cunningham's,
I am pretty sure nobody wants to see the word "hungover" on their coozy!  But it is nice and stretchy for keeping apples safe!

 Neighbor on, my good peeps.  Neighbor on! 
-Your neighborly BSO

Memories of vacation fun times + colon health

July 1June 2130, 2018

Hey y’all!

Happy belated Solstice! Summer vacation anyone!  Hells yes!  The family and I fairly recently just returned from a beautiful vacation out to the Pacific Northwest.  It featured, among other things, a trip to the beach

the (coast) redwoods

a hike in the Cascades

Vacations are my favorite! We had a great time, but now it is over. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell everyone all about it whenever I get the chance!  And now’s one of my chances!

We started in Seattle 

and spent some quality time with my close friend Tyler 

and his beautiful paramour Kathleen.

We played some bocce ball, at which I still have a good knack, and ineptly attempted a game called pickleball, although I wouldn’t mind trying it again sometime.  We went to Pike Place Market where we quickly and efficiently took in the sights and bought shiny trinkets and crafts of all kinds, including this beauty purchased not by me, but by Mrs. Snot!?  

Did you know there are many bicycles, including bike shares like the Lime, which is allegedly only $1 per ride!?  

Then we made it to the enjoyable Honkfest!  

What a great community event!  If I didn’t have to drive I probably would have tried to borrow/hijack a trombone or, failing that, a trumpet.

We eventually made it out to the ocean, 

after a brief 2 hour hike in to the lovely Cape Alava.  It was then that I was eventually forced to realize I had foolishly purchased the wrong kind of fuel for our camp stove!  No, the MSR Dragonfly multi-fuel stove does not count alcohol as one of the multis.  Fortunately Mrs. Snot was undeterred.  She quickly fashioned a wooden platform to support the cookware over the campfire 

and we feasted on a delicious cheesy potato and noodle casserole.  Luckily the aggressive ravens didn’t abscond with the cheese until we’d already enjoyed our hearty campfire feast.  

There were some bones.  

Some rocks.  Some crabs and even the elusive sea deer.  

After a nice short hike back to the vehicle we jumped in for a quick 7 hour spin down to Yachats, Oregon. The ocean was unnervingly beautiful and intensely inviting to Snot Jr.  

I was in no mood for tarrying; however, so I eventually cajoled him back into the vehicle so we could get down to the (coast) redwoods.  The redwoods were comforting to me.  The trees were a beautiful shelter and they create their own cool climate, to a certain degree.  The redwoods and the giant sequoias appear to share a common ancestor - possibly Sequoiadendron chaneyi that existed 10-20 million years ago.  The ancestral tree was apparently widespread in the northern hemisphere.  As the climate became cooler and drier; however, the giants were confined to a few smaller pockets.  Now there are separate populations, primarily in California and also a cousin in China - the dawn redwood (Metasequoia).  I got all my info on the redwoods from a passionate and eloquent volunteer for the park, named Brad.  

Brad also informed Snot Jr. about an exciting pilot programme christened the Junior Park Ranger program.  After completing the required activities and racing to the visitor’s center to provide proof of his worthiness Snot Jr. was sworn in as a Junior Redwoods Ranger!

After our rendezvous with Cali del Norte we quickly about-faced and drove for a long time in order to make it onto a ferry to San Juan Island.

After arriving in plenty of time we were informed that the ferry was about 50 minutes behind schedule!  That was okay for the most part, although I may have not accidentally activated the vehicle’s theft-deterrent alarm at the San Juan County Park Campground at midnight if the ferry was on time!  It would have only been 11 or so!  Howdy y’all! Let’s camp muthafuckaz!  

After a lovely cruise on a whale watching boat I left the rest of the family to their own devices and headed off for the mountains via ferry and bus.  I had been training a few times for this experience and the excitement was palpable! I talked incessantly to strangers about various things I had heard that related vaguely to my fledgling puffin-like understanding of the Pacific Northwest.  Here is a sample of my conversational gambits:

1. ·     So I heard Opra bought a place on Orcas Island, eh?  (optional response)  But what I want to know is, is she running for president?
2. ·     Did you hear them announce the Lopez Island stop back there?  Ha!  Yep, I didn’t think this (ferry) stopped there!
3. ·     Are you from around here?  (optional response)  I’m from Nebraska (end conversation)

I would invariable end up telling people that I was going mountaineering on Mt. Baker.  So, that eventually transpired as my friend Tyler and I woke up bright and early to meet up with our group at the American Alpine Institute in Bellingham, Washington.  Here are a few of the things involved in the mountaineering:

1.    Our guides made sure we had the right gear.

2.    We took a before photo.

3.    We backpacked along the Heliotrope Trail up to a nice camping spot at around 6,000 feet above mean sea level

4.    We encountered a bold canine

• 5.    We practiced some fun self-arresting behavior, knot tying and roping in for glacial travel 
• 6.    It snowed about 9 inches, obscuring crevasses and delaying our planned alpine start (1:30 a.m.).
• 7.    Although we did not get near the summit, we had a nice “glacial tour” that was enjoyable, informative, and scenic.
• We pooped into bags filled with laundry detergent.
• 8.    We beheld a laconically aloof mountain goat from a distance

9.    Upon our survival and return to the parking lot, our guide generously meted out portions of a refreshing watermelon

All the good photos in this post were taken by Mrs. Snot.

As I have previously stated, we are now back and I even had the pleasure of participating in the always awesome Rollin' to Colon.  We rode quickly and easily with the wind, and then fought the wind and made it all the way to Colon, where the Red Zone looked quite open and alluring.  But I am unfortunately at an age where I am boringly responsible in most regards, so I forewent the RZ and instead made it back to the road for some more pedaling.  It was at the last Power Stop, before we missed our turn back to Valley, that I learned the following things:

1.    The American Cancer Society recommends that a person at average risk for colorectal cancer start getting screening done at age 45.  There are 2 primary methods for testing – a stool sample or a colonoscopy.

2.    Colon hydrotherapy is kind of like an enema but not smelly and you may be able to request it at your chiropractor.  I think it’s primarily for people who have colon cancer.

I enjoyed a tour of the inflatable colon:

Great to know!  Thanks people from the Great Plains Colon Cancer Task Force and the chiropractic nurse who was riding in Rollin to Colon.  

I was thinking of heading out to the Taco Ride one of these days but it’s been kind of soggy around here lately, which has been great for the kale!

The mulberries have been ripe and delectable.

So I hope your summer is going well.  Please enjoy a vacation, mulberry, and or colon health screening at your earliest convenience.

Summery blessings to you, your loved ones, and the rest of your family!
-BSO