Those Important Neighborhood Support Services

ambulance

UPS truck

Segway cop

Sometimes I don't see all the support services that we have in this city neighborhood and it's easy to forget how useful they are. For instance, there's those cable guys from Verizon or Comcast hanging about on the lines in the alleys. And, every once in a while someone calls an ambulance and it arrives!  It's worth noting that ambulance service is now dispatched much more efficiently than when I first moved to Washington DC when this service was also being used by some for non-emergency visits to local hospitals and consequently, service was more erratic!  Then there's those marvelous UPS (and Fedex) trucks which leave us so much of value on our front porches (ask them to hide stuff under the porch so it doesn't get pinched in the recent wave of thievery!).  And, up until recently, it seemed like we had police patrols using Segways rolling around and preventing drug dealing and other miscreantry. Of course there are other support services, such as police, the US postal service (USPS) and store delivery services like Sears and Peapod (both of which I've used and find very helpful), services that one sees occasionally making a foray into our streets.  And of course now is the season for UHaul and other similar vans as it again is moving time for the more transient population living here. I suppose I could mention the dry cleaners, bars, hospitals and a public library all within walking distance, but I haven't got around to photo'ing all of them yet and didn't want to have too many thumbnail pics jammed into this one blog. I could also mention the mostly 24/7/365 clean running water, gas and electricity but that's really basic infrastructure and might be the subject of another blog about things we take for granted. But these services here really do make our life in the city so much easier, don't you think? And, Thank God!