Celebrating the Nameless

I was disappointed on the way to the busstop this morning as no bacon was cooking.  Aside from trying to carve out some time for pause, I do really love bacon. 

The other little girl that comes to our busstop was not there today and hasn't been all week.  My three kids and I wondered if she was sick and, if so, hoped she would get better.  I am horrible with names so never can retain the names of her parents (and many others).  That is one thing I like and appreciate...knowing so many people...not by name...but only by community.  As I walked past a house and its owner stepped out to grab the morning paper today, I saw he was the judge that sits a few rows in front of us in the right trancept at church.  I never knew.  He lives only a block away.  I also heard that one of the dog walking ladies is a retired judge - the one with the young retriever- the one with the stunning Statue of Liberty carved into the dead tree trunk in the front of her yard.  As I passed the busstop for one of the other schools in the neighborhood, as I do daily on my 8 block walk, I waved to our friends whose names I know and also the dad I saw at soccer last night who had his team on the wrong "home" field (our organization has many home fields...) and had to scoot back towards the home he lives in to meet up with an out of town team who was at the correct "home" field (I asked and he did make the game).  Then there was the former newscaster, too, at the busstop with her children (no more early morning shows).  How lucky I am to walk these dogs and have community with my neighbors, some whose names are known and others not.  It is this idea of these community relationships that makes me adore living in an urban setting. While some may have careers where I perceive a bit of local celebrityness (judges, newscasters, senators, soccer dad coaches), all are simply neighbors with real lives.  Yup.  Real lives.  And I get to see it now and then.  It is hard to imagine sometimes...especially when appearing before some of these judges.  And it was odd that time I saw a now former US Senator down the block with bedhead, but that reality does warm me about our community.

I was relieved to see both dog walking ladies, today, looking lovely.  I love my nameless neighbors.   Here's to celebrating the nameless in our lives!