Got myself into a pickle today, where I ended up with a 18 ft wide by 12 ft high door hanging by only one bolt, and it was exposed to wind so really high likelihood that this thing was just going to come crashing down.
Got it braced against the wind, and put a rope on it attached to my vehicle from the other direction, as a backup. Reached out to a neighbor couple miles up the road who is a contractor, and given that it was a gorgeous sunny weekend day, I knew Id be pulling him away from much more pleasant things than dealing with my problem.
He was at our site within maybe 20 minutes, we got the door fixed and hanging properly in maybe another 30 minutes. And here's the thing. We don't share politics at all, don't have anything in common except that were neighbors and we help each other out. He needs something we'll be there, we need something he'll be there. Its kinda the key to making things work in this era we find ourselves in. Ignore everyone's politics and just help each other out.
by RockPaperSawzall
9 Comments
No beer after that…. ? C’mon now
This is a great message. Thanks for sharing!
Country folk just want to get shit done.
Who TF needs to view their neighbors through the prism of politics first, especially when they come to save their bacon.
*GASP*
This conservative contractor rescued my butt. My TDS almost prevented me from calling for help, but thankfully he doesnt live his life judging clumsy liberals. I left the echo-chambers of the cities and have to rub shoulders with the salt of the earth. I feel dirty.
You could have just said “my neighbor really helped me out”
But no, you live your life politics first, unless someones politics dont matter when they save your ass.
Good neighbors are priceless! We actively work on maintaining that – bringing over extra eggs, ready with our tractor in a pinch, even just a wave & hello. You never know how or when you might need each other, or what kinds of serendipitous connections might come out of it!
We just pulled junk trailers out of our neighbor’s woods & turned them into nice little free-fiddy farm carts. Another neighbor gave us some extra tarp to cover one of our chicken runs. Hell, we still keep in frequent contact with our old neighbors from a couple years ago! We lived in that neighborhood for a decade, and some of those folks are practically family now lol. Community doesn’t just *happen*, you build it!
What state?
Love this story and agree. Recently moved from Colorado to Missouri. Had the worst neighbors in Colorado. Texas boomers who tailgated on our dead end road and never waved.
Missouri my neighbors dropped off baskets of their home goods and hosted a welcome party.
Good neighbors are underrated!
Good on him, and you for asking. To extend on an ‘Essential Craftsman’ tip, use 4″ or 6″ C-clamps to clamp a 2x4x8-foot to the sheetmetal edge and use that as a stiffening rib to stand the sheetmetal stably. Another 4-foot bar clamp at the bottom can act as a dog leg.
Your problem is solved, but C-clamps are great for pulling corrugated steel up onto a roof.
Neighboring is a gentle sport and adding politics to the mix is often anti-neighborly.
I discovered long ago that giving my neighbors eggs really helps smooth things over. Even more so now.
We share domestic AND irrigation water systems with multiple neighbors. Some of them we’d have no real contact with otherwise. Some are friends now. Some are not. We’re still working on consistent early communication.
With all the challenges and frustrations I’m still glad it’s like this.
The real test will be when we have a few years of drought and the creek starts to dry up…. Does our garden and orchard die or do the neighbors sell all their cows?