Do you know your neighbors? I don't know all of mine... I know some of them, and I know more of them today than I did a few days ago. After a tree fell next to a neighbor's house, they got to host an impromptu party of neighbors (the wail of a two-stroke engine calls men out like a siren song).
But actually, this post was inspired by a man that passed away in 1998, and that I hadn't seen since 1989. His name was Otto H. Schmitt. We lived next door to each other on Como Ave SE in Minneapolis, near the U (University of Minnesota), and just up the street from Joe's Market. We only actually talked a few times, but he made an impression...
The first conversation was regarding his fascination with my Mazda truck. I never plugged it in during the winter, yet it always started. He had an old station wagon... maybe an Oldsmobile... and despite being plugged in during the cold season, I had to give him a jump start several times. He asked me once why my truck always started. I told him about the Mobil 1 Synthetic oil that I used. We chatted about it for 30 minutes out in the cold.
He was kind of an eccentric... 
On another occasion, he was curious about the new toy I had parked behind the house. It was a 1985 Shelby Charger Turbo. He was curious about the turbo... not the functional theoretics, but rather about the mechanical efficiencies. He knew what they did, but was curious about how the turbo could be improved. After a few moments of talking about basic specs (engine size, max. RPM, exhaust pipe diameter), he told me how much air the engine pumped... He did the calculations in his head. Now, I know a lot oabout cars, and a fair amount about automotive math. I have a reasonable grasp on the theory and function of the pieces that go into a power train. Using a computer and the internet, I could come up with the numbers he came up with in a couple of hours. And I was kind of curious, so I checked the numbers with a friend of mine that raced a similar car and had a LOT of dyno time with the engine. Otto's numbers were more accurate off the top of his head than I would have been able to ever come up with.
He was also a genius...
I have remembered his name for 20 years. And today I Googled him. I knew that he had a couple of doctorates. I knew that he invented the Schmitt Trigger. I even knew what biomimetics was... after he explained it to me.
I knew Otto as a cool, kind of eccentric guy next door. I didn't know Dr. Schmitt as the scientist that was central in the creation of the Magnetic Anomaly Detector... which was one of the most effective weapons in the fight against Nazi submarines in the Atlantic. Nor did I know him as the multi-disciplinary futurist that some did.
BTW, he told me that his brother, Frank, was the really smart one... Frank was at MIT... and Frank was a pretty smart guy too.
Do you know your neighbors?
I'll have to try to not take mine for granted...
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
Hi Lane - What a lovely tribute to an ncredible man. Thanks for the encouragement to get to know my neighbors better. I'll bet there are some pretty interesting folks around here that I've yet to meet.
Cool post, thank you for sharing.
Lane...
I love posts like this. It kind of makes you wonder what you might be missing by not getting to know people better. Even 20 years later, this long gone neighbor is having an impact on your life. How cool is that?
I have had a few neighbors I haven't got to know over the years and a few we have had some conflict with over minor issues. You make a great point of learning a bit about them Like you past neighbor who knows who you might meet.
Lane - Wow, now that's a cool story. Sometimes great people "hide" in plain sight.
I think people are so busy nowadays that they don't take the time to get to know their neigbhors. What a interesting story about Otto, neat guy.
Lane - I really think you've stated what many of us feel, but few take the time to accomplish. I know my neighbors, but not in a good way:
As for the other 6 neighbors...those I like because we all feel the same way about the three mentioned above. Is this healthy...no. If I needed help immediately...I could count on two, maybe three people. In today's world, that doesn't seem to be enough.
Lane
Thanks everyone for the comments...
Lane - I think most of the folks on the street here are pretty cool. And I was surprised at how helpful everyone was with the neighbor's tree. But then, I think that people really want to help. You might be surprised...
Hi Lane, I like this post. I find it amazing what great things I find out about people when I get to know them... neighbors and others.
Shirley - There are a lot of people with really cool stories just wandering around.. unbeknown to the rest of us...