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NOTABLE NEIGHBORS
by Julie Gabell

     For the past several years the Notable Neighbors column has featured residents who have been recommended by friends or whose contributions to the community make them stand out in the crowd. May, season when all is in full bloom, seems a fitting time to honor those persons who do notable things in an unsung way.

     This month’s column is dedicated to all those Beacon Woods residents who, on a daily basis, contribute in any manner, however small, to the positive energy of the community: the woman next door who takes soup to a sick neighbor; the man who chauffeurs someone to a medical appointment, the young adult who walks a dog or mows the lawn. It celebrates the one who phones a friend each day to check that all is well.

     This column is dedicated to the person who remembers a neighbor's birthday and surprises them with a card; the one who delivers a newspaper to the second floor of a condo when they know it is difficult for the owner to navigate the stairs. It says “thanks” to the neighbors who work the church bazaars; parishioners who sell the tickets, serve the food, wash the dishes or handle the clean-up. It recognizes those who make rosaries to give to the sick or who visit someone confined in the hospital. It celebrates those in the St. Vincent de Paul Society and other church-sponsored groups who distribute food and essentials to the homeless in surrounding areas.

     Notable also are the neighbors who volunteer in our nearby hospitals and medical centers; the folks who man the phones, distribute ice water; drive shuttles from the parking lot, or maneuver wheel chairs down long, confusing corridors, thereby enabling visits from those who have difficulty walking.

     Notable Neighbors are library volunteers who sort and stack books, or conduct sales for the Friends of the Library. They are the volunteers at Cares who give of their time to prepare the food or wait on tables, thus making a meal a pleasant community experience. When push comes to shove, a notable neighbor is one who manages to live life with a smile despite personal sorrow or pain. Though they may never be written up in a column, the spirit they spread throughout the community is above all notable.

     In a world surrounded by violence and negative influences, the small every-day actions of “ordinary” persons raise the bar and let the world know that there are those who care. The notable thing about so many Notable Neighbors is that not one of them thinks for a moment that they are notable. Yet, there is no substitute for the knack of "doing small things” in a big way!