Dillard

6 Pages 1442 Words

respond to Dillard’s book and reflect upon your own experiences.
1. What kind of neighborhood(s) do you/have you lived in (suburban, rural, urban)? How has that shaped your sense of who you are and your sense of community?
In eighth grade I visited Washington Dc, and New Orleans. Never before had I seen buildings that had “open” market shops in them. Knowing that there were larger city’s out side Springfield made the neighborhood I live in seem like the dull scraps of what was left of the interesting people of the world.
My neighborhood has stayed the same through out my childhood. There was a older lady on the corner of my street, she died a few years back. I don’t recall ever seeing her face or what her name was. She kept to herself. On Halloween she would set out a jar of candy so I never got to see her up close. I always wonder if she had any family.
I would notice her car would be gone for a few days, I never noticed any cars other than her own in the drive way.
When I was eight the city was deciding what to do with “our” park. My neighborhood friends and I often tried to play baseball there. With only 4 of us we didn’t really have much success. When the park board had a forum to hear suggestions nearly everyone in our neighborhood came to tell them that they wanted the park just the way it was. And we got our wish. Now there is a senior center also on the property. I don’t recall the last time my friends and I played on the swing set or the merry go round after that day that we said how much that park meant to us.
I only speak to one of my friends of days gone past. The other dropped out of high school and the only reason we maintained a relationship up until that point was out of convenience. I despise the fact that there were never more than 5 girls living in out neighborhood my age at any one time. My street is occupied by retirees who get their paper in the morning still in their robes. They mow t...