doodledee

My street has a block party every fall. We sit around with our neighbors and have a few beers and cook out and talk about how great the neighborhood is. It's a good time.

This year's was supposed to be on a Sunday a few weeks back. We had been pretty busy with a couple weddings around that time, but we were gonna be in town that Sunday so we figured we'd go. After all, it's party in your front yard - how can you say 'no' to that?

The big day arrived and I made up one of those giant bread and spinach dip bowls. Yum. Around about 5, I start watching out the front door for people to start setting things up. Usually a couple dudes bring grills and somebody brings a table and so on and so forth.

No one ever showed.

All day it had been cold and rainy. What's more, the Twins were playing a big playoff game that evening. Mix gently and apparently you've got a recipe for block party failure.

Or at least that's what I chalked it up to at the time.

Over the last couple of weeks I've come to discover that at least 3 other families on the street were watching out their front doors waiting for somebody else to make the first move, too. (Like me, I'm sure one eye was on the street and one eye was on the Twins game.)

It's time for better neighborhood leadership. It's time to elect a 'block captain'. We'll need somebody who can make a difference. Someone who can get people to rake their leaves and bring in their garbage cans. Someone who can pass a prescription drug plan without taxing Social Security. Someone who will let me rake my leaves into the street and/or my neighbor's lawn.

Carpe Diem, people. Carpe Diem.