- For the first time since August of 2019, cozy neighborhood converges for annual flamingo themed picnic
- After 2 ½ years of minimal gatherings, 24 people catch up in small suburban hamlet
- Families share potluck on perfect autumn day
- Enjoy a ‘normal’ social activity, albeit a smaller than usual get-together
An eclectic and close-knit neighborhood reunites for a social gathering to celebrate their community and friendship. Usually an annual event, the group had last come together for such a function on August 25, 2019.
The fear of Covid halted the gatherings. The lingering fear and division may have contributed to low attendance at this occasion 2 ½ years after the wave first began.
In the past 30 months, small groups of neighbors had been friendly and cautiously connecting.
Winter windstorms had brought them together to remove fallen tree limbs that impeded the passing of vehicles on the narrow roadways, spurning a “Post Ice-Pocalypse Neighborhood Clean-Up” in mid-February of 2021.
Since then, some folks banded together to clean up the main thoroughfare adjacent to the 50 homes nestled in the forest.
Others focused on pulling invasive ivy from trees or removal of refuse from the nearby river and its banks. They take care of their neighbors and take pride in showing care for their area.
It was September 24, 2022, when people finally returned to the annual “Flamingo Party ” where people congregated around food with potluck items showcasing homemade mac and cheese, garden fresh produce and cupcakes from an award-winning baker that is a longtime resident.
Conversations allowed people to catch up on each other’s lives and reconnect. Tales of new hobbies, travels and adventures were shared.
One woman shared that she had taken up cello lessons via Zoom with a musician in Spain.
An Army veteran had just returned late the prior night from a humanitarian effort to Ukraine.
Children reported their excitement for a return to a ‘normal’ in-person school year with no masks, and no social distancing, the first such event since March 11, 2020.
Others rarely leave the neighborhood, some rarely, if ever, leave their homes. Elderly neighbors became homebound due to the insistence of their families.
Three gentlemen in their 60s and 70s had been treated for prostate or bladder cancers over the pandemic.
Some connections remained and have grown stronger. Whatever the future holds, they tend to stick together and help each other in times of need.
