Have you heard of National Night Out?

The national date for this event usually falls on the hottest day of the year (so far). This year was no exception. Tuesday evening, August 7th, the temperature reached 101 degrees with the heat index at 109-111 degrees. I didn't need to know what the humidity was--I was miserable enough.


Our block has had a street party every year since before He and I moved to the City in 1993. It's America's Night Out Against Crime! The "24th Annual National Night Out" (NNO), a unique crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), has been active since 1981, but I had never heard of NNO before moving to St Louis. It's a good thing. Except for the time of year it is held.



Despite the oppressive heat, we may have had the biggest turnout at our street party ever. Our dedicated friends and neighbors braved the conditions and cooked, baked, and brought their good humor to the middle of the street where we set up tables, bales of hay, chairs, wading pools, and sprinkers. The theme was "The Wild West" so we wore silly cowboy hats and red bandanas--and yes, we wore clothing. We caught up with the news with old neighbors and met new neighbors. We spoke of neighbors who moved away and who we miss very, very much. We discovered that we will have a new addition to the block next February--Kim and Dave are expecting.

Please enjoy the pictures...leave your comments.