The nice lady living next door to me lost her husband last year and finally decided to move in with relatives. Although we only had a nodding acquaintance , I was sorry to see her go.
The "For Sale" sign did not stay up long. One day as I came home from work, I noticed a moving truck in the driveway (which is separated from my own by only a few feet), so I walked over to introduce myself to the family. I met the father and two teenaged boys. I was told there was also a mother and a daughter. Pleasantries were exchanged.
I did observe that the lot of them looked as if they could have played extras in the movie "Deliverance", or were the end result of too many near-relative marriages. Bad teeth, bad clothes, and eyes that didn't quite match up to each other.
The following Saturday, I was to meet my Witness daughter at my house, but had left briefly to pick up snacks for her visit. She arrived shortly before I did and intercepted two elders who were approaching my door. They recognized her and she chatted with them. (To her credit, she made it sound as if I would not be home for hours, thus saving me from their univited visit.) During her conversation, the elders mentioned they were in the neighborhood not to see me, but because they had heard a family of Witnesses had moved in nearby. When she related that conversation to me, I got a chill.
I would not have picked my new neighbors as Witnesses from a lineup, because they did not have that neat and tidy look one sees depicted in the magazines and on stage in family dramas. So, I looked for other signs that the elders had, indeed, picked the right new homeowners on my street.
Last night, my worst fears were confirmed. As we were preparing to hand out candy to the costumed little darlings, the family next door had their lights off although there were three cars in the driveway. About 7:15pm they all got into the family van, dressed in "meeting attire", carrying books or bags, and left.
There goes the neighborhood, as they say. I've always been careful about holiday decorations or outward signs of my non-belief out of respect for my Witness daughter. However, to have next door observers who could cause problems for me with the elders is another matter. So far, I've managed a quiet fade, even though there are some who would delight in seeing me disfellowshipped.
Oddly enough, although I've had several polite but brief conversations with the neighbors, they have not yet tried to talk to me about religion. That tells me they either 1)know I'm an inactive Witness or 2) are waiting for the right moment to begin preaching to me. Who knows, maybe the "conversion" will work the other way 'round??
Should be an interesting Christmas on my street.
Wasa/keeping the blinds drawn