What Do You Notice In Your 'Hood?

Community is having a safety net with your neighbors. The banana nut muffins that show up on a doorstep as thank you for hosting a recent get-together. Community is parents standing on the corner of hwy 9 & Alemendra street shepherding the neighborhood kids safely across the busy stream of traffic..this is a daisy chain of sorts because it's typically a subset of the same moms, at various corners to act as safety sentries. This two fold approach accomplishes a few key components of community..Lots of kids on bikes and scooters every morning, lots of self absorbed blu tooth heads..a complex cocktail because each has the ability to safely multi-task but too often I notice near misses. Could be the kid on the bike or driver fault..Societal norms have shifted..the sense of responsibility has shifted too or at least the consideration of responsibility mentally has shifted. Someone else/ somebody else will do it.
Every morning I see the same gentleman walking his dog from Bruce Avenue towards downtown. Always out, no matter the weather. Walking stick in hand, yellow lab meandering along the sidewalk. Seeing him and the yellow lab will always be a comforting sight to me. Community means looking out for this guy, and the kids on bikes and moms with strollers. My preachy diatribe is just to remind us to try and lose the "Me First" mentality. Note to self: just be a bit less self absorbed behind the wheel and see how many things you notice today that make our neighborhoods what they are.