Corrected for paragraphs - sorry
“Otherwise, go live out in the country or the fringes of town where folks put their washing machines on their front porches and park their old trailer homes in their driveways.”
Excellent generalization - all country folk are trashy...That is sloppy thinking.
I built my first house in the country and I did have an extremely poor family across the street that had a fair bit of junk laying around, instead of complaining about it, I got to know them and helped them in several ways, not just cleaning. I moved to NM and my wife wanted to live in a “development” with sidewalks and neighbors. After that experience I do not think she will ever want to do that again. We no live in the country again, I honestly can not say if my neighbor has a washing machine on his porch - his house is a half mile away. I guess I am a country boy at heart and would rather listen to nature than people.
Well, as you just attested, you got to know your neighbor, therefore you would have noticed the distress. I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that nobody in the “neighborhood” tried to figure out what was going on.
My son up and joined the Army. I didn’t put out a big sign or anything. Well, word spread fast. Everyday my neighbors ask how he is doing, can they send him anything, etc.