A few fences, great neighbors

The Deerfield community consists of thirty or so parcels of land from five acres to more than a 100 acres. The land belonged to the Cox family during the Civil War. There remains a small Cox family graveyard on the property with tombstones dating to the 1800s.

One of the pleasures of living in Deerfield is the eclectic assortment of neighbors. Consider a few:

* A world-traveling family which has lived or traveled on most of the continents in the world during the father's time with the military/Peace Corps/Foreign Service/USAid/State Department. The inside of their home is like a museum of the world.

* A neighbor who builds his fences with recycled telephone poles.

* A veterinarian/researcher with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Services.

* An engineer who runs his 1980s model Mercedes-Benz on recycled cooking oil. I love the smell of french fries when he comes down the road.

Everyone in Deerfield seems to have their own story. Perhaps our only common bond is that we like our neighbors enough not to be too near.

When we first moved to Deerfield, I was excited to learn that my world-traveling neighbor restored cars as a hobby in his huge workshop. I could imagine glistening Ferraris, Jaguars and Lamborghinis from all over the world lined up in the garage. Instead, I found 10 or so 1980s model AMC Eagles. Like I said, eclectic.