I organized a block club party on my block this past week. We ordered all of the free activities that the park district offers, the climbing wall, the trackless train, a clown show, a fire department truck and an ambulance. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had her way with us, and it rained like cats and dogs.
But it was an opportunity to meet my neighbors as I knocked on their doors to invite them. I learned a lot about community involvement. People you expect to come - don't, and people you don't expect to come - do. And I really had some faithful neighbors to step in and help. Thanks to all of them.
Unfortunately, because of the rain the kids never got the chance to scale the wall or rattle around the trackless train. But I've got to say thank you to firemen Edgar Hughes and Pat Sperling of the Bolingbrook Fire Department. They may not know it, but they saved the day. During a tornado watch, they demonstrated to a crowd of children what it means to be a fireman, and the kids got a kick out of wearing their fire gear and looking through their engine truck.
And also thanks to Cocoa, the clown, who also braved the wet weather. She stood in my garage, dressed from head to toe in a clown costume and made the most amazing balloon animals that I've ever seen.
We're at the end of the summer and kids are headed back to school, but if you ever get a chance to plan or participate in a block party, do it. It's a chance to connect yourself to the community that is Bolingbrook.
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Debbie Lively is an award-winning journalist, novelist and Bolingbrook mother of two. She also instructs people in the art of writing.
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