A NEIGHBORLY DAY

We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say “It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.”

Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes. - Mr. Rogers

#thanksmrrogers

I've had an up-and-down few years. It started with the election in 2016 and things have been...well, up and down ever since. Thankfully, things are mostly up these days, but I'm still treading lightly. However, even with learning to type with my fingers crossed against whatever new hell is approaching and with the horror the national news is to me, I've been thinking a lot about Mr. Rogers.

Caryn Capotosto

There's the movie, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, produced by Nan's cousin Caryn Capotosto, which I haven't seen yet but am looking forward to. There are all the Mr. Rogers memes on FB, which offer comfort whenever they appear. There are the cardigans--whenever I see one, I think of him and am grateful for him. There are the quotes, that make us nod and say, "Yes. Yes. That." 

There are people on a local "Positive Future of..." website who also remind me of Mr. Rogers. They are kind and funny and smart and supportive. They spread good news, good cheer, and give help where it is needed. I belong to that page. I post on it. I "like" a lot of posts. I "share" a few. Angry posts are taken down. Ones that denigrate anyone or any business are taken down. Profanity and obscenity aren't there--it's PG at its best.

Politics aren't mentioned on that page. It is the only way it can survive. It is the only way we can all remain good neighbors. It is, perhaps, an unrealistic way of seeing our community, but it's real to me. It's real if for no other reason than the fact that we all need breaks from the anger, the fear, the judgment. The only name I've been called on that page is "Liz." I like that. It has a ring to it. 

Romance has evolved over the years. I don't even recognize it as the same genre I grew up with. In all honesty, there's much I miss about "the old days," but even with my rose-colored nostalgia glasses, I know going back would be a mistake. However, some of what we so valued from those old days has stayed. There are still HEAs. Inclusiveness says there is room for every sub-genre known to a reader or writer and some we haven't thought of yet. There is, regardless of some mutual irritation going on, room for trad, indie, and hybrid.

It is up to us, just as it is up to the members of that page on FB, to keep it positive. It is not necessary for us to say out loud if we think your kid is ugly or your book is crap; rather it is necessary to give each other high fives and atta-girls. We don't have to post pictures of the ugly kid or read the book we can barely stand the first page of--we just have to shut up and be good neighbors. 

~*~

My next book, Nice to Come Home To, which takes place in the good neighborhood of Lake Miniagua, Indiana, will be released August 1. I love Cass and Luke's story. I hope you do, too.