To the Editor:
All this talk about The Villages turning into a “city” because of a few new apartment buildings has me thinking. Why do people disparage cities so much? I lived for decades in NYC and had a wonderful experience.
I met many people and made many friends, walking my dog or having breakfast in my corner cafe. The diversity of the neighborhood allowed me to make connections with people of multiple backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions and socio-economic levels.
People who live closely together in cities learn to respect the privacy and the individuality of their neighbors. They are rarely put off by someone’s quirks. Yet, when you need help, many people come to your aid.
One day when I was under the weather, an actress who who I didn’t know, who happen to live in my building, came to my apartment door carrying a chicken dinner on a tray including dessert and a rose in vase. She had heard that I was going through some hard times and she wanted to do something for me and my terminally ill husband. Things like that happened all of the time. Neighbors would offer to pick up groceries, or bring us treats, or books, or CDs or DVDs.
During a major blackout, I remember walking home from work on dark Manhattan streets, only to come to my own street and see an impromptu party! People had little grills on the sidewalk and they were cooking and sharing everything that would go bad in their freezers. Ice cream was in abundance! A neighbor yelled out to me that they brought my husband and his caregiver burgers. Another brought them ice cream. Another said that he walked my dog, laughing because he said he never walked a dog before, and he might now be inclined to get one himself.
After my husband died, a friend from the south came to stay with me for a few days. She couldn’t believe how many casseroles and other kindnesses were delivered to my door. She said she couldn’t wait to tell her neighbors back home what a friendly place NYC was.
There are many friendly hometowns in America. It really doesn’t matter where you live. It matters what is in your heart and how you treat your neighbors.
Being “America’s Friendliest Hometown” is an aspiration. It is up to each and every one of us to make that happen.
Cindy Grossman
Village of Caroline
