The Slice: Someday, you’ll make a name for yourself

Your name might not be Wilson.

But for all you know, you live in the Wilson house.

At least you might if you have neighbors of a certain age who still refer to the other homes on their block by the last names of the families that resided there decades ago.

It is a fairly common practice, not unique to Spokane. And it doesn’t imply that the older folks in question have lost it.

It’s just that some habits are hard to break.

If they knew the Wilsons for years and their children were young at the same time the Wilson kids were growing up, well, that house might always seem like the Wilson place to them. Even if Mr. Wilson died in 1998 and Mrs. Wilson moved to a retirement community in 2002.

New families come and go. Gardens and fences change. The exterior gets painted a new color. But it’s still the Wilson house.

Naturally, this happens only in neighborhoods that have been around a while. In new housing developments, there isn’t the history. Plus, people on the same block don’t always know one another nowadays.

Moreover, it seems fewer families stay put for long stretches.

Now certainly there are neighbors of different generations who have made a connection and are a part of each other’s lives. But perhaps that is the exception. A lot of us pretty much go our own way today.

So it’s really no insult if the older people across the street refer to your home by a family name that’s long out of date. It doesn’t mean they believe in ghosts.

It’s just recognition that your house had a previous life — long ago, but not far away.

Of course, chances are, you’ll never hear of these references to the Wilson house. You aren’t party to those conversations.

Besides, it’s your place now. And maybe you are well on the way to making a lasting impression of your own.

Today’s Slice question: Who is the Inland Northwest’s fastest lawn mower?