So I was 3 years of age in 1956,

[bluescribbler]

10. I was close.

In 1956, I was five. A new family had bought a house in the neighborhood. He had a PhD in physics and worked for a firm which had contracts with DoD and NASA. She had an MS in Biology and a Teaching certificate. Just the kind of neighbors you'd want, right? Apparently, one family didn't think so. They began to circulate a petition to prevent the sale. My parents, thankfully, refused to sign. Soon after, my sisters and I knocked on the door, and when the woman came to the door, we asked, "Mrs K***, can your daughter come out and play?" The daughter began 2nd grade in my younger sister's class. The families have been lifelong friends ever since.