What makes a good neighbor?  Let me see, 30 years ago, I would’ve told you something different. I was living in LA at the time. Now, living in Idaho, very rural Idaho, I have a different perspective.

Being a good neighbor here means, as the saying goes, having good fences.

It also means putting out a fire on your neighbor’s property when they aren’t home. It means taking their horses off the highway when they get out so they won’t get hit or hurt a driver. It also means helping when an accident happens in front of your house. This involves diverting traffic on the highway through your property. Sometimes it even means you help an animal in labor have their baby.

Being a good neighbor isn’t just about helping the guy next door. It is helping all the people who live in your community.

It’s a blood drive or an auction to help someone with hospital bills. It’s also about taking food to a family that has just lost a loved one.

Or simply being there for your neighbor to vent. When my husband died, I found out who my great neighbors were. They were all here to help in some way.

A neighbor is part of a larger family that everyone in the community contributes and belongs to. It becomes a very lonely place if you don’t belong. Oh, yeah, and that cup of sugar!