these are the people in our neighborhood.

We've got some characters in our neighborhood. I know Ben will probably not remember a lot of them, but they're all interesting in their own way. If I were a writer or an otherwise great storyteller, I'd love to write a book about one or all of them. I've been keeping a running description of each of them in my head, so I can tell Ben about them later, if he's interested. In no particular order, they are:

• Vicky. She lives across the street from us, alone, and can be found peering out of her front window several times a day. She has three sons who all live in Jersey. "They never call anymore." Her husband died when he was 31, leaving her to raise her three sons alone. I think she's pretty lonely, and it makes me sad. One time Ben and I bought flowers at the farmer's market and left them on her doorstep for her. I think she might be getting forgetful lately - even though she knows Ben is a boy, she calls him 'she' and 'her' and forgets things I've told her. One of her sons is a mailman in Philly and comes to her house every day before he goes home. He checks in on her and brings her groceries. I stopped him one day and introduced myself to him and told him that he was a good son. Now when we see each other, we wave.

• Mike from Rizzio's Auto Repair, on Reed Street. Both of them, actually - but Mike Sr. is the nicest guy ever and always puts a smile on my face. He forgets my name but always asks how the 'little guy' is. The first time we had the oil changed on the new car, Ben had been home for a couple months. When I went to pick the car up, he met Ben and gave me $20 to put in his piggy bank. I just dropped the car off again today and he was all smiles to see Ben. We had written them a thank you note for the $20 bill, and it's still hanging in the office, over a year later. They're good people.
  

• The Indian man who lives on 9th street, seen above. He has two granddaughters and when the weather is nice, sits out on his front stoop with them. The first time we met him, we had been standing in front of a Buddhist shrine across the street. The shrine has pretty lights and takes up an entire lot. It's filled with plants and trees and flowers, and music plays 23 hours a day. It's a really beautiful little oasis in the loud city. When he saw us looking at it, he called us over to his house. He talked about the importance of a good education, and he bragged about his granddaughter's good grades in school. He said he had lived in India for a long time before he came to the States and now lives with his daughter's family. He told me that Ben would be a scientist one day, 'a great man,' and chatted with us for awhile. Just yesterday we saw him and he told Ben he was 'very much delighted' to see him.