One of my neighbors recently had her father move in with her. He had a stroke and he walks up and down the block all day to keep up with his exercise. He does not speak English, but he makes sure that I get into my car every morning, and that I get back into the house safely every evening. He watches until I wave and let him know I’m OK. He waves back and continues his walk.
On days that I have to move cars around for street cleaning, he makes sure that everything starts OK and that I’m clear of driveways.
Yesterday, he wasn’t outside, so I had to move my car without his help. His daughter happened to come out, so I asked where he was. She had made him go inside to rest. She had no idea that he helped and wondered how he had so much energy. I explained that it wasn’t so much help as supervision. She said she told him to stop staring at the neighbors. I told her that he was fine and I missed the company.
My kids said that he makes sure they get in and out of the cars safely, too. They wave to him, too.
He’s not doing any harm, and he certainly isn’t creepy. There may be a language barrier, but the wave hello and goodbye translates well.
bookworm at the gym 