Wisdom & Grace: The neighborhood sure isn't what it used to be

One of my mother's favorite things to do was to "take a ride around the block." By "the block", she meant the three miles by two-mile rectangle that we live in. As a child growing up just east of the Amos Trail, we would take that ride on Sunday afternoons or warm summer evenings. Often, we would stop at the neighbors to greet them and just check up on them.

Well, I started thinking and remembering the neighbors that once lived in our area. Most are gone and their houses are in shambles or no longer exist. Mainly for the benefit of myself, I thought I would write down what I remember of them a...