Genie -- yeah... I think I may have learned well from my grandmother Josie... whenever there was a family cocktail party or picnic, the grown-ups tended to stand together and talk, drinks in hand, to each other, and she made a point of holding conversations with the children -- without talking down to them. And I tend to do the same with the neighbor kids... I think they pick up on that.

Also, my mailbox is mounted several inches lower than "normal" so I can reach it from my chair... this also means that the kids can reach it too, whereas getting mail from their own boxes is diffecult. I think they like doing something that is "grown-up", and I'd like to think they like me as well... and my kittle cats, ;-) one of whom comes up to them for a head rub when they bring in the mail.