Have you met your neighbors yet?
My petite blonde neighbor, Cindy, and her husband and baby daughter moved next door to us in about 1996. We chatted over the fence occasionally, with no mention of her secret—the amazing room she was building to honor the Seahawks.
Recently, she invited me to visit the large room in her home dedicated to the history of the Hawks. She could make up for hundreds of people who disregard the sport, though it’s hard to imagine there are many of those after the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2013. (It often seems that the twelfth man/woman flag flies in Seattle even more than the Stars and Stripes.)
Cindy’s room is a tribute to her favorite football team, and she never doubted they would capture the trophy. The first item that started her “Hawk Museum” was a gift of an official Seahawk Jersey in Lime Green and Blue #12 from a friend.
Over the years, her treasured collection has grown. When the Seahawks win Super Bowl #49, she will be taking over the garage.
Cindy and her husband work full time while my hubby and I are retired and rarely socialize—good neighbors, but we knew little about each other.
Other things I learned as we chatted during the room tour: Cindy was born in California, moving to Alaska where she played basketball with the Seward Seahawks. A bit of a tomboy in her youth, I surmise, she has a Second Degree Black Belt and is an instructor in the art of kick-boxing.
Cindy and her daughter work at D&D Meats in Mountlake Terrace. (Say hello—or “Go Hawks” the next time you buy meat.)
The question I ask myself is how can you live next door to someone for eighteen years and never get to know them? All these years, I have missed finding out what great people they are. Everyone has a story to tell and Cindy’s was a wonderful surprise.
Shirley Kranda, native Seattleite and “retired” mom of five, lives in Mountlake Terrace with her husband of 62 years.
SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).
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