Crazy Crap Item #90: The part where we all thought this sort of thing only happened in the movies

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I live on the best block in the world.

Prior to moving in, I used to scope out our neighborhood, strolling by to see what life was really like on 1500 Norwood. And seriously, I thought they were putting me on.

More often then not, there were small children gathered on the sidewalk, cavorting. Mothers sitting and chatting. Butterflies alighting on fingertips, and bells softly tolling the hour from Lutheran church one block south.

Seriously, all except the butterflies.

After moving in, Eamon and I quickly learned this was not a bill of goods. Our neighbors are ridiculously nice. The kids on the block are ridiculously funny. We have a block fund, used to fund two annual block parties and purchase welcome gifts for new neighbors. And of course, we have our legendary badass squirrels.

Which brings me to the antics of last friday night. This weekend, as I'm sure you're aware, is a fantastic, four-day holiday weekend. Which means the week prior is all just a vamp leading into four days of glorious nothing-doing. Not surprisingly, we on Norwood started to get the holiday itch a little early.

"I'm thirsty," my neighbor Megan announced on Thursday afternoon. To the uninitiated, this seems to mean Megan needs a glass of water. For denizens of the 1500 block, this means, "We're getting together to drink tomorrow afternoon, right?"

Which we did.

You see, in addition to our several planned gatherings, here on 1500 Norwood, we play host to a variety of spontaneous shindigs. Typically, they grow out of the afternoon play period, which occurs sometime between nap time and dinner time. Small children explode onto the sidewalk, propelled by scooters, small firetrucks, and bikes with training wheels. Mothers gather wherever there's space to sit. If her work schedule allows, a feckless freelancer joins in, just for fun.

Playtime is so well established that one of our neighbors, Ruth, has even created a permanent location, consisting of two park benches, two pottted plants and a small glass table, all chained to the tree on her parkway.

You never know when playtime will erupt into something more, like a pizza party on the Daly's lawn. But this week, I had Megan's advanced warning, so I alerted Eamon, and got myself in a party frame of mind.

At about 2pm, I wandered out to playtime. We chatted of this and that, then decided to take up residence on Ruth's benches -- this despite the fact that Ruth and her family are out of town, and are hosting guests for the duration of the weekend. If the guests were puzzled that the neighborhood descended on the benches even when Ruth is not at home, they kept it to themselves, initially sequestering themselves on Ruth's enclosed front porch, where one of the children serenaded us with violin practice.

By 4 pm or so, Megan cracked a beer, and I brought out some Mike's Hard Lemonade. Sheila, from the block over, brought wine. We snacked on Megan's guacamole and cheese and crackers.

Soon, daddies came home and joined us. We ordered pizza. Then Jim (Jack's dad) brought out his fiddle and serenaded us Civil War-era folk tunes. The violin-playing houseguest joined in, as did his sibling. John O'Connor -- whose wife Ann and triplets were out of town -- brought out his drum kit, and Chris Cancilla took out his guitar. Eamon took tambourine.

And ...

Cue fireflies.

Cue small children with sparklers.

Seriously. Best neighborhood in the world. The 1400 block can bite us.