How many of us know our neighbours, living in large urban areas. We are a community, to be sure, but sometimes neighbourly camaraderie eludes us; people can be suspicious of one another, have no wish to add any complications to their already-complex lives, finding it difficult enough to deal with ordinary, everyday occurrences requiring attention. Yet it is beyond pleasant to have confidence in the humanity of those among whom we live.

And extending recognition to those with whom we share fairly close geographic space through the courtesy of a modicum of interest and good humour reflects on us as individuals and does add value to our lives. I feel that I know many of my neighbours to a degree that I respect them as people, irrespective of their ethnic-cultural backgrounds, sharing social values with my own. This can be judged on a number of obvious and less obvious indices where attitudes are conveyed and registered.

Those among my neighbours who are hostile to extending acquaintance with others, and who give adequate evidence of that trait over the years are those whom we ordinarily give wide berth. They have no wish to be pleasant, make that abundantly obvious by shunning any kind of acknowledgement of the presence of others, and their attitudes are accepted and reciprocated.

As normal, decent people we hope to live in harmony with our neighbours, because doing so enhances the quality of our own lives -- extending that opportunity to others as well, through courtesy and acceptance in normal, everyday interactions simply makes life more pleasant.

We don't ordinarily carefully select those with whom we will share space on a street, whose activities may on occasion be irritating to us. When we move to a house on a street we are unfamiliar with, we scarcely give a thought to who will be living next to or across the street from us. Trusting that we will eventually come across those people and find them to be as agreeable in nature as we consider ourselves to be.

One wonders the life-lesson being absorbed by students at a junior high school in Calgary. Their science teacher, 31-year-old Harvey Kelloway was stabbed to death by someone he had just met. A man who had just moved into the house beside where he lived. Harvey Kelloway had a partner-in-life, and they shared the care of a young son. The little boy will be too young to remember anything about his father.

Staff-Sgt. Doug Andrus of the Calgary Police explained what police believe occurred: "We believe that the suspect went over to the victim's residence earlier in the afternoon to introduce himself, and then they continued to associate throughout the day and into the late evening." The two men evidently consumed alcohol, as men are wont to do. It is not believed the two men had known one another previous to this meeting.

Someone, late in the day, dialled a 911 call from within the suspect's house. When police arrived they discovered the grisly scene of death.