Know Thy Neighbor

Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Farner, & Dad

After all these years, I never found out why 2 of these 3 clowns wore cowboy hats. Lavender Street was a suburb after all… And based on those farmer tans, this was some time in the summer, maybe early 80s, because I recall still being in grade school. Seeing this photo reminds me of how growing up on Lavender Street created some of the best memories a kid could have. There was never a week that went by that we didn’t have neighbors popping in - or us kids stealing raspberries from Mr. Hoffman’s bushes (he’d always yell at us!), or running through Mr. Farner’s backyard to get to the Hoffman’s house to play (Mr. Farner was a patient man!) - they were family and left us with some great memories.

Mom, Dad, Kookie and Martin - May 2005

These two crazy kids on the right ended up being two of our closest family friends. Martin was like Dad. A kid at heart. And when the two of them were together, look out for water balloons falling from above or teaching us kids how to get the police to show up with a few (big) fireworks. To watch two grown adults act like kids… as a kid you’re mesmerized but you realize, it’s a free pass for not getting in trouble because they were the leaders of trouble! Thank you for those memories!

After Mom and Dad moved from Lavender Street to Bates Lane, that friendship didn’t end. And Dad and Marty took up wood working together with home renovations for locals. I can only imagine the shared stories Marty had with Dad. And who out-witted the next with a joke on the way to the job. Two of a kind!

Dad always told me how he loved to give Kookie the business too when she called. I imagine she has some of her own stories too. What great neighbors they were!