"The kids were what we had in common.."

Having moved around a lot when I was really young, one would think that I never got a chance to experience the very American tradition of a close-knit neighborhood.  However, every place that I lived, all very different in location and size, I feel I did fully experience the American tradition of a 'neighborhood'.  I remember all sorts of neighborhood children and their parents and babysitters.  The memories and adventures I had with the kids on my block are ones I know I will remember for the rest of my life.  But this got me wondering what the experience may have been like for my parents.

 I found an article about the relationships on the street where one man lived with his family for many years.  When talking about the fading relationships he was experiencing with the adults on his street, he said "Looking back, the kids were what we had in common, and now we don’t. "  Maybe this is because I'm still a child myself, but I really cannot cannot think of a worse thought.  When we grow older and have children, is that what our lives will become?  Will our relationships with other adults be held together only by our children?