Fresh Batteries Make Good Neighbors

Good morning! It’s a new day, a new week, and a new month. Let’s make all three great!

Welcome to November. I know, it slipped in under the wire with little fanfare, other than the semi-annual changing of the clocks for most of the nation. We don’t change ours because daylight is already abundant here. There was something else I was supposed to do as well, but I can’t remember. Who can even think with that smoke detector chirping all day?

Okay, I’m old but not senile. We’re supposed to change the smoke detector batteries when we change the clocks. It’s a good way to remember, but I think I may have missed that once or twice. We’ve lived here two years as of today, and it has never made a sound, not evenz

My wife has an unnatural fear of dying in a fire. I’m surprised we don’t have a smoke detector in every room including the bathroom. But that one would be going off all day. I once spilled bourbon in the motorhome and set off the propane detector. Good bourbon. Maybe it just wanted a sip. But as I learned, electronic sniffers can’t always differentiate between smells.

Still, it was nice knowing the device actually worked. Nothing like going to sleep with a slow propane leak and waking up dead because the alarm didn’t go off. Maybe that’s why I wake up so many times every night. Ours doubles as a carbon monoxide detector. I’m not sure I even want to test how well that works. At least I can smell propane. Well, in most rooms.

Where we live, the houses are close together. By close, I mean I can stand on my carport and touch the neighbor’s living room window. She’s asked me to stop doing that, by the way. But we’re all pretty conscious about fire, because one spark could wipe out an entire block. And let me tell you, nobody wants to go to Wednesday coffee after causing something like that.

One benefit of living so close together is that we take care of one another. If somebody is sick, we visit. If they’re hurt, we cook. And yesterday, when the entire state was under a flash flood warning, we offered towels to a neighbor with water in the house. Good towels. Hey, we’re old but we’re not cheap. I offered them some bourbon, too. It seemed appropriate.

I joke sometimes, but last year the remnants of a hurricane took out a neighbor’s carport roof that doubled as a ceiling for the den. Within minutes, the aluminum structure had been removed from the street, and another resident had already gone to buy tarps for the open den. Nobody asked anybody to do anything. It was all hands on deck. That could’ve been any of us.

As much of the nation is descending into winter (no snide comments from you folks below the Equator), you’ll have ample opportunity to help a neighbor. When our snow-thrower was working, I’d bundle up and plow the sidewalks on both sides of the street. That was my silent contribution to the neighborhood. Well, that and wearing a shirt outside. The ladies pretty much insisted.

Especially this time of year, it’s easy to find people in need. They don’t always advertise, and you may even be one of them. Heating costs are rising, grocery prices are up, and gas stations now offer payday loans. All at the most expensive time of year. You may not have money to spare, but if you’re going to the store anyway, can you pick up a few items for a neighbor?

There are dozens of little things we all do that don’t require a lot on our end, but make a huge difference to someone else. How hard is it to take a plate of leftovers to a sick neighbor or shovel a path from their porch to the car? And you don’t have to do it all. Do you have a teenager who dared to utter the words, “I’m bored?” Come on, this is what you’ve trained for!

All it takes is paying attention and asking questions. That neighbor who has groceries delivered twice a week may be housebound. The one whose car hasn’t moved in weeks may need a ride somewhere. And sending your kid to their house with a shovel isn’t child abuse. It’s teaching them to put a little kindness in the bank. Because someday, they may need help, too.

That’s all for today. Try to find one kind gesture you can offer each day and see how you feel at the end of the week. I’d love to hear your stories. Meanwhile, have an awesome day! And change those smoke detector batteries!

© 2026 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
Photo courtesy of Betsy Anderson