Back Door Friends

Last month I received an alumni magazine from one of my private school clients that included a neat reflection from the Head of School.  He was writing about community, and he talked about his “back door friends” of his youth.

During my high school days, the back door to our house was always unlocked and it opened into our kitchen.  I can still remember my friends just walking in, greeting my mother who may have been baking cookies at the time, asking if I was home and commenting on the delicious smell of cookies, hoping to be offered one while waiting for me to come into the kitchen. 

As I look back, I can see that one way of defining our “community” was by those who knew the back door was open and felt comfortable coming in anytime.  In fact, they loved coming over because my parents made sure our home was warm, loving, fun, and stocked with food!  Other people came to our front door and rang the bell, then asked permission to enter our home.

When I read the piece, I thought of my home on Webster Street and how our back door was always unlocked, and the back porch light was always on until the last person went to bed.  We loved having “back door friends” pop in unannounced at any time during the day or evening. 

Jeff Helm and Tom Whalen were my back door friends throughout high school.  My parents enjoyed visiting with them even if I wasn’t home!  And I never hesitated to pop through their back doors unannounced knowing that I would be greeted warmly and invited to sit down and chat.  Yes there is something special about back door friends and I look forward to catching up with Tom and Jeff this weekend along with so many other special NHS 1972 classmates at our 50^th Reunion!   -Tom Ryan