Details at Eleven

Hyperlocal.

Ten years ago I’m not sure this was a term. Perhaps it was and I simply didn’t know it yet. I thought of it yesterday when I watched this humorous video clip in which neighborhood goings-on, gossip, and hearsay are reported with all the production quality of a big city newscast. It’s worth a few minutes to enjoy the ridiculousness of it. What would happen if NextDoor were a newscast? Maybe this.

The hyperlocal report from where I am would include the moving out of a neighbor who has been a foster mom to teenagers while also caring for an older disabled man. I don’t know why. Also worth reporting would be the trials and tribulations of that poor woman whose air conditioning failed for a whole 24 hours before the new part arrived. (That would be me.)

Other top stories:

• People who put their trash out before six pm the night before.
• Parking inside the white lines: a challenge for some.
• Why does the Post Office stuff things in your mailbox that don’t fit?
• True confession: delivery people get lost coming to my house.

These are only some of the hyperlocal stories that could be told in my neighborhood. I’m sure there are more if I were good at getting into other people’s business. (I’m not.)

Another hyperlocal story is the online group Buy Nothing. There’s actually one specifically for East Columbia. Buy Nothing is a bit like Freecycle but the overall intent is different: to foster an ongoing sense of community. If you are interested in how groups like this work, here’s an article from the Washington Post. I have recently become a member and I am finding new homes for old stuff with enthusiasm. So far I have rehomed a stuffed animal, a Curious George Writing Journal, some  children’s games, and an unneeded computer monitor.

And that’s all the hyperlocal news from where I am. Over to you, readers.