Life in the 'Hood

When we think of what it means to live in a typical American "neighborhood" we think of a physical collection of houses, a shared bus stop to the local school, maybe borrowing a cup of sugar or the occasional egg from the lady that lives next door. Perhaps one of your children plays with someone four doors down but you don't necessarily know that much about the family.

Not in this little American town. Edina knows its neighbors and the term "neighborhood" is a little loose around here—in a good way.

Yes, it's true that much of Edina is made up of small gardens, zero lot lines and non-existant fences. You can't light up your BBQ in these neighborhoods without sending smoke signals to everyone on the block that might as well be interpreted as, "YES! WE ARE COOKING! BRING YOUR KIDS AND YOUR COCKTAILS AND JOIN US FOR THE EVENING!"

Even in the more sprawling neighborhoods of Edina, one might see pink flamingos hanging off of mailboxes or posing on lawns. Block parties are prolific. Backyard movie nights in summertime are a cherished tradition.

But the term "neighbor" in Edina doesn't necessarily take on the textbook definition of "one who lives near or next to another." Here we don't take the meaning so literally. In my dense East Edina neighborhood we know eachother well; adults and kids alike. I can easily say we are a "tight" 'hood yet I know what it means to look beyond the block and support all of my Edina neighbors.

There are so many community gestures that demonstrate Edina's tendency to be a "neighborly" place to live. The 4th of July fireworks and parade, the tree lighting ceremony each winter at 50th and France, the Edina Art Fair, the annual homecoming parade down Wooddale Avenue. Yet it's more than that; it goes deeper.

It is an entire community that collectively bonds together and crosses neighborhood boundaries to canvass the city with luminaries for a young girl, a teenage boy and a mom that all passed away too soon and unnecessarily. This is the town that flies red balloons from every doorstep, lamp post, corner street sign and freeway overpass when a . We may or may not have known them, or even their families, but we bond together as a single neighborhood to do what we can to show them we care.

I believe Edina embodies another definition of the term neighbor that I found online: "an exhibition of collective human spirit; to be generous to those around you."

Very true indeed, Edina.