The Neighborhood Tool Belt Brigade

Our street has a group text called "Who Has a Ladder?" It started when a neighbor needed one to rescue a cat from a roof. It's become the most useful thing in my life.

Someone needs a drill: four replies in two minutes. Someone's moving a couch: three teenagers show up. When the older woman at the end of the block had a leaky faucet, a retired plumber fixed it in an hour, and she paid him in snickerdoodles.

Last month, a family's fence blew down in a storm. By Saturday morning, eleven neighbors were in their backyard with post-hole diggers and coffee. The kids handed out nails. Somebody's grandmother brought a cooler of sandwiches. The fence was up by lunch.

I've lived on a lot of streets. On this one, nobody ever has to wonder who has a ladder.