When I moved from the small town of Minot I never worried about my mom receiving help from neighbors, as it was always the thing I thought I could count on.

Now 30 years later, I am moving back to Minot to assist my mom since her Alzheimer’s diagnoses in 2018. I have called the town office looking for help. I walked across the street to my neighbor who has a bucket loader and back hoe. He said he would get back to me, and yet every day I see people with trucks and four-wheelers in and out all day, never stopping by to say hi or offering any help.

I realize this is not anyone’s obligation to help, but I know when I grew up here I learned about helping others, neighbors that I carry with me wherever I have moved. My question is, have we moved past the age where paying attention to your town is no longer a common decency anymore? Is the act of caring for one another a thing of the past?

I pray that I am wrong.

Lindie LeClair, Minot