FREE ESSAY ON MY NEIGHBOR ALICE

MY NEIGHBOR ALICE

I remember when I was young, about seven or eight years old, how I use to go outside in
the summer and play with my stuffed animals and imaginary friends from early morning to
the break of dusk. I was quite a rambuncious kid with a huge imagination.
My next-door neighbor Alice, would watch and observe as I played in my backyard, then
she'd laugh and go back to tending her lovely vegetable garden. Alice and my mom both had
vegetable gardens and would exchange different kinds of veggies through out the season.
Sometimes they laid out together trying to get a decent tan.
As the years slowly past, I recall sitting on Alice's big front porch with her just
chatting away for hours on end about anything we wanted to, really. She'd tell me how she
used to think I was such a funny kid when I used to play in the backyard and talk to
myself with my toys and animals. While I sat on the ledge of the porch and listened,
intrigued by her stories, Alice would rock back and forth in her rocker happily smoking
an occasional Marlboro menthol light cigarette. We'd cut up and make jokes about the
papergirl she despised because the papergirl always threw her paper in the bushes, and
we'd gossip about some of the other neighbors on our block. Then she'd tell me stories
about her kids when they were my age and what kind of mischief they'd get into as they
grew up.
Everyday as soon as I saw her out on her porch, I'd fling open our front door and run
over to her house. However, I never cut through her lawn! No way! I always took the long
way by using the sidewalk. Her and her husband Charles spent a lot of time doing yard
work, keeping their lawn looking nice and having a flowerbed by the side of the house, so
I never set foot on their grass simply out of respect. No one ever told me not to walk on
their grass, it was just I knew better! 
Sometimes in the evening after I was done hunting fireflies, I'd retreat back to Alice's
porch and we'd count them out together and watch them glow. Then we'd let them go and
make wishes although the wishes I made never came true, it was still fun to pretend. 
Charles would sometimes join us on the porch and enjoy the fresh air the early summer
evening had to offer us, as he'd gather his white calico cat into his lap and gently
stroke her soft furry coat until she began a sturdy relaxed purr. Now, I don't remember
what exactly the cat's real name was. Alice didn't care much for her; she called the cat
"Sourpuss" while Charlie would call her in every night saying "Come on in now ole
girlfriend." Alice would sometimes swear up and down that Charles loved that cat more
then her sometimes. Alice and Charles made such a nice couple, nice looking people for
their age and all around nice people. 
I could see that Alice had been a very nice looking woman when she was younger as she
still appeared to be for her age. Light brownish blonde hair, with twinkling hazel eyes
with nice glasses that framed her face well. I felt so close to Alice, I felt she was
another grandmother to me. As for my real grandmother, who visits my house regularly
because she lives close by, would often visit Alice as well and they'd have a nice talk.

Then, I started growing up. I would still visit Alice every now and then but the visits
slowly came to a stop. When I had reached my freshman year in high school, I'd walk home
in the afternoon and sometimes catch her leaving to go to work. She was a LPN at Reid at
the time, and had been for a long time. After my freshman year, I moved in with my Dad in
Virginia for two years. Whenever I came into town to visit my mom though, I'd stop by
Alice's and see how she was doing. She was always so excited to see me! She'd invite me
in and we'd sit in her medium sized living room and talk about old times and new things
that had been going on in our lives. 
This summer, a few weeks into August I came back to Richmond for good. My mom wanted me
to finish my last year of high school here so I reluctantly came back just to make her
happy. 
The first few weeks I was here I didn't get a chance to stop by Alice's and visit. She
knew I was back though because her and my mom still talked regularly. Then, one day, a
few days after school started again, I finally caught her on her porch just rocking away
smoking her Marlboro menthols. When she spotted me she smiled from ear to ear and
motioned me with her hand to come over. I went up to her porch and greeted her happily
with a big bear hug. She was so excited to see me. I don't know how long I ended up
staying over there, perhaps over three hours, but by the time I went home it was already
dark!
That's the last time I visited Alice. It had been a pretty busy year for me so far. I
worked a lot, concentrated on my schoolwork, and hung out with my friends. I figure Alice
understands as well. I feel bad because I haven't been over in quite awhile but every
time I see her outside we'll talk for several minutes and I'll be on my way. Sometimes I
still spot her on her porch even on a winter day, sitting in her rocking chair just
rocking back and forth back and forth. I never understood though why Alice and I never
wrote letters back and forth while I was away. I had her address, I'm sure if I had wrote
her she'd written back. I guess I didn't really give it much thought. 
However, when the weather starts getting a little nicer I'm going to start visiting her
again before I go off to college in the fall and before we sell the house. Its just my
mom and I in this huge house now, and she feels that its time to change houses after
being here for nearly twelve years. Maybe this time Alice and I can keep in touch and
someday she'll visit me in my new home and spend the evening on my porch reminiscing like
we use to. 
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