United nations

The chill wind tugs at my fleece but the sun is still shining brightly at 8 PM. Poppies fly a brave orange over in one yard; bright red geraniums and petunia line a driveway. But it's the people that fascinate me when I ride. A bike trip through the neighborhoods is like a trip around the world.

a all orange turbaned Sikh walks with calm dignity down the sidewalk like a tall ship sailing into harbor. His wife saried in bright blue is a bobbing dinghy about eight steps behind him. Perhaps they've been to the Indian restaurant up the street, or maybe they are just out strolling. Two teen girls pass them, dark haired, chatting in Spanish.

We round a corner and an Indonesian man, white Muslim cap firm on his head, is playing tag with his little sons and a golden cocker. They laugh and wave us by, grabbing the little dog so she doesn't chase the bikes.

Another Indian woman is kneeling in her hard planting flowers. A Middle Eastern woman, head firmly covered, ambles down the sidewalk talking in Arabic on her cell phone. A Chinese couple are sitting on their deck.

The neighborhoods are looking settled these days. The trees have almost 30 years of growth behind them and they shade most of the yards. When we first came here the cornfields were still edging the western end of the subdivisions and our yards were only a few years out of those same fields. Trees were rare. Squirrels and birds didn't come for some time. Now the rabbits are rampant, nibbling the edges of well trimmed yards, and the birds and squirrels rule. Possums, coons, and the occasional deer or coyote still range the further neighborhoods and wooded areas.

So very Midwest, and yet so international. A contrast one every corner, in every block. I watch my international neighbors, knowing full well how different this is from their countries of origin. Yet here they are, settling into a new world as I often do in theirs.

We round the corner toward home and come up our circle. Our Hindu neighbor is bringing out his trash cans, baggy pajama bottoms flapping in the rising breeze. Our kids have gone through school together. He liked our kitchen remodel and improved the design into his house. We stop and chat for a few minutes.

India, China, Lebanon, Pakistan, and other peoples, all in one small block of the Midwest. Almost need a passport to go out on a bike. Little wonder that the local school field is busy every weekend night with scores of young men and a game of ... cricket!