When Do You Need a Neighbor?

On a midsummer afternoon, I suddenly realized our rescued, indoor-only cat, “Puffy,” had escaped outdoors during an electrician’s visit. Puffy is untouchable, holding tightly to his earlier feral status, so I began calling and searching around our rural neighborhood in a panic. The next morning, one neighbor mentioned that she had seen a gray cat sitting near her shed. I found Puffy huddled underneath it, as untouchable as ever. Another neighbor then offered the use of his small animal trap. I placed some smelly canned sardines in the back of the trap, and Puffy was caught the following morning. Those of you with pets can easily imagine my trauma and subsequent relief. Fortunately, no handbell rehearsals were missed during Puffy’s Great Escape.

During the November ThanksRinging online video presentation, HMA interviewed Martha Lynn Thompson, a retired church musician in Little Rock, Arkansas. For more than 30 years, Martha Lynn directed multiple church handbell choirs for all ages. In the interview, she explained her technique for helping parents of young handbell musicians understand the importance of attending every rehearsal. She gave each parent a couple of random words from the Lord’s Prayer and then asked them to recite the prayer, with each parent reading only their assigned words. In these introductory meetings, it quickly became apparent how every word was crucial and how each reader relied on their neighbor to read their words at the correct time and in sequence. I loved the imagery of this example: eager (perhaps non-musical) parents who could recite the Lord’s Prayer backward and forward in their sleep, trying to form an ad hoc, unrehearsed team of readers. I suspect Martha Lynn had an excellent attendance record in her choirs.

In both of these situations, it really struck me how interdependent we are, whether we realize it or not. Until Puffy’s Great Escape, I never imagined I would need a small animal trap, and my neighbor probably never thought he would need to loan his trap to someone else.

We have probably all relied on our ringing neighbors for the usual favors—helping with a page turn, covering an accidental, or whispering a measure number. Some of us should probably rely on our ringing neighbors a lot more.

This past Christmas holiday season, one handbell musician in my community group could attend only one of two concerts, so a neighboring handbell musician (geographical “neighbor” distances are relative in rural Maine) agreed to shadow the traveling musician for several rehearsals and perform in the second concert. What a generous neighbor.

Do you need help finding a handbell neighbor? As an HMA member, you have access to the Member Directory. Once you log in to the national website (handbellmusicians.org), find “Member Directory” on the left side under “Resources and Downloads.” You will see a range of search criteria, including name(s), state, and Area. Back under “Resources and Downloads,” you will also find “Membership Directory Profile,” where you can review how your own information appears in a Member Directory search. Please keep in mind that this tool is available only to active members.

I do have one more neighborly example involving a USPS truck stuck at the bottom of a hill on my icy driveway and a neighbor’s personal tracked vehicle coming to the rescue, but I will tell that story another time.

On a midsummer afternoon, I suddenly realized our rescued, indoor-only cat, “Puffy,” had escaped outdoors during an electrician’s visit. Puffy is untouchable, holding tightly to his earlier feral status, so I began calling and searching around our rural neighborhood in a panic. The next morning, one neighbor mentioned that she had seen a gray cat sitting near her shed. I found Puffy huddled underneath it, as untouchable as ever. Another neighbor then offered the use of his small animal trap. I placed some smelly canned sardines in the back of the trap, and Puffy was caught the following morning. Those of you with pets can easily imagine my trauma and subsequent relief. Fortunately, no handbell rehearsals were missed during Puffy’s Great Escape.

During the November ThanksRinging online video presentation, HMA interviewed Martha Lynn Thompson, a retired church musician in Little Rock, Arkansas. For more than 30 years, Martha Lynn directed multiple church handbell choirs for all ages. In the interview, she explained her technique for helping parents of young handbell musicians understand the importance of attending every rehearsal. She gave each parent a couple of random words from the Lord’s Prayer and then asked them to recite the prayer, with each parent reading only their assigned words. In these introductory meetings, it quickly became apparent how every word was crucial and how each reader relied on their neighbor to read their words at the correct time and in sequence. I loved the imagery of this example: eager (perhaps non-musical) parents who could recite the Lord’s Prayer backward and forward in their sleep, trying to form an ad hoc, unrehearsed team of readers. I suspect Martha Lynn had an excellent attendance record in her choirs.

In both of these situations, it really struck me how interdependent we are, whether we realize it or not. Until Puffy’s Great Escape, I never imagined I would need a small animal trap, and my neighbor probably never thought he would need to loan his trap to someone else.

We have probably all relied on our ringing neighbors for the usual favors—helping with a page turn, covering an accidental, or whispering a measure number. Some of us should probably rely on our ringing neighbors a lot more.

This past Christmas holiday season, one handbell musician in my community group could attend only one of two concerts, so a neighboring handbell musician (geographical “neighbor” distances are relative in rural Maine) agreed to shadow the traveling musician for several rehearsals and perform in the second concert. What a generous neighbor.

Do you need help finding a handbell neighbor? As an HMA member, you have access to the Member Directory. Once you log in to the national website (handbellmusicians.org), find “Member Directory” on the left side under “Resources and Downloads.” You will see a range of search criteria, including name(s), state, and Area. Back under “Resources and Downloads,” you will also find “Membership Directory Profile,” where you can review how your own information appears in a Member Directory search. Please keep in mind that this tool is available only to active members.

I do have one more neighborly example involving a USPS truck stuck at the bottom of a hill on my icy driveway and a neighbor’s personal tracked vehicle coming to the rescue, but I will tell that story another time.

Mya Dundzila
East Regional Membership Coordinator