It doesn’t matter who we are, we are all going to have someone that could be considered our neighbor. Some of us may share a common wall in an apartment building and others may share a property line that is either close or far away. For some, a neighbor may even live miles away. The thing is, not everyone who lives in close proximity to us could be considered a neighbor and in some cases, they might just be someone that lives nearby and we never see or hear from them. That wasn’t the case with the man in the following story. He truly showed that he was a neighbor in every sense of the word.
If you have ever had a next-door neighbor that really had a positive impact on your life, you realize how special they can be. Ken Watson was just such a man and he lived next door to a family that cared for him in a special way. He continued to be interesting, even when he got older, and he enjoyed doing stunts. As a younger man, he would strap himself to the wing of an airplane and when he got older, he even learned to skydive at the age of 85 years old.
In the end, Ken pulled off a stunt that really took everyone by surprise. He was keeping it secret, but his daughter discovered the secret after his funeral. When Ken met his two-year-old neighbor, Cadi, they had a special friendship from the start. Owen Wilson was surprised when she came up to his door and knocked after the funeral. It seems as if Ken was keeping a bag that belonged to the little girl.
The friendship that Cadi and the old man had was surprisingly strong. He knew that he couldn’t give her a Christmas card after he died so he wrapped 14 gifts to provide her with one every year until she turned 16.
“Our elderly neighbour passed away recently. His daughter popped round a few moments ago clutching a large plastic sack. In the sack were all the Christmas presents he’d bought for *our* daughter for the next thirteen years.”
Owen and his wife, Caroline were teary-eyed when they called her mother in Ireland about what he had left to their daughter. It was an unexpected and amazing gift.
According to the rules, she was only allowed to open one present per year but they had a problem. He didn’t label the gifts to let her know which year she should open them. Obviously, a gift for a two-year-old will be different than a gift for a 13-year-old.
The temptation proved to be too much so Owen did open one of the gifts and it was a book. He knew that there were also other books included, along with a few toys that were soft. Nobody knows what those other gifts are yet.
Ken lived in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. He had only been there for a couple of years but he had a special place in his heart for their little girl since she was born. Owen said that Ken was a man of real character and he was an honorable person.
Most people don’t even realize the names of their neighbors and we might not recognize them if we saw them out in public. It’s nice to know that there are still some people who understand what it’s like to be a true neighbor.
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