08/12/2026
Life Is Short—Please Care More
I am going to share something as a reminder to everyone.
Life is short. Please try to care a little more.
I will probably cry while writing this because, even after all these years, this still hits me hard.
I have lived in several states throughout my life. In one of them, I lived in a very large neighborhood filled with beautiful, million-dollar homes. I was the neighborhood watch leader and worked closely with the police department. Looking back, I probably took my job a little too seriously. I would get calls at all hours when someone saw something concerning, and I would ride around the neighborhood in a golf cart every few hours—sometimes around the clock—just trying to make sure everyone was safe.
One night around 3 a.m., I received a call about an older gentleman whose mail was piling up, whose grass was getting high, and whose television had apparently been playing day and night loudly.
Now, none of that was really what neighborhood watch was supposed to be about. But something in me said, go check on him.
So I got up and went.
When I arrived, I noticed the mailbox was full. There were numerous HOA violation letters inside, mostly concerning the grass and other property issues.
Then I saw a note on the front door:
“Wheelchair-bound and hard of hearing. Please knock hard and be patient.”
I didn't want to wake someone up at 3 a.m., but I knocked loudly and waited.
There was no answer.
I became worried, so I walked around the house to see if I could see inside. I noticed the bedroom television was on, and I tried to look through the window.
What I saw will stay with me forever.
There was a body lying on the floor.
I immediately called my police department contact. She came with an ambulance and the fire department. They entered the home and eventually asked me to come inside to see if I recognized the man.
I didn't.
And that broke my heart.
They determined he had been dead for approximately four days.
The smell was terrible, but honestly, that wasn't what stayed with me.
What stayed with me was the realization that this man had apparently been alone.
His doctor had called because he had missed an appointment. We discovered there was no family checking on him, no friends stopping by, and apparently no one who had simply thought:
“I haven't seen him. I wonder if he's okay.”
People had noticed his grass.
People had noticed his mail.
People had noticed his television was too loud.
But nobody had stopped to ask why.
Nobody had knocked on the door.
Nobody had checked to see if he needed help.
Nobody had cared enough to find out what was happening inside that house.
And that has stayed with me all these years.
Because sometimes we are so quick to complain about what someone isn't doing that we forget to ask ourselves what they might be going through.
After that happened, I started something I called a “call tree.”
I had one or two people, depending on the street, who would check on elderly people, people living alone, people who were struggling, or anyone who might simply need someone to care.
Every day, someone would call and say:
“Hi. We just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?”
That's it.
And you know what happened?
I met some truly wonderful people.
People I eventually loved like family.
My children would visit them. We would help them when they needed something. We shared meals, conversations, laughs, and memories.
Most importantly, they knew someone cared.
So please remember this:
Your neighbor is more important than their grass.
Their mail piling up might mean something is wrong.
Their house being quiet might mean they need help.
Their television being loud might mean they can't hear well.
A violation letter might be the least important thing happening in someone's life.
And before we judge someone, maybe we should knock on the door and ask:
“Are you okay?”
I also think about Hurricane Ida.
When Ida hit, I lost my roof. Water came through the ceiling and destroyed things inside my home. Appliances were ruined. My children weren't home, and we were living in hotels. My kids had lost their belongings, and we were trying to figure out what to do next.
My grass was the absolute last thing on my mind.
Yet, during all of that, I continued receiving complaints and letters from the HOA about my grass. Neighbors continued reporting it.
Not once did anyone ask:
“Are you and your kids okay?”
“Do you need a hot meal?”
“Do you need water?”
“Do you need somewhere to charge your phone?”
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
That hurt.
Because I know firsthand how much a simple act of kindness can mean when someone's world has been turned upside down.
So this is my reminder to everyone:
Stop judging. Start caring.
Before you complain, check on someone.
Before you send a violation, knock on the door.
Before you assume someone doesn't care about their home, consider that they may be struggling just to get through the day.
Because one day, that person could be your parent, your grandparent, your child, your friend—or you.
And if it were someone you loved, wouldn't you want someone to notice?
Wouldn't you want someone to knock?
Wouldn't you want someone to care?
Life is too short to only care about property, rules, money, appearances, and peace and quiet.
People matter more.
Please remember that.
Don't let someone die alone!!!
Send a message to learn more
