Zemulan is a quaint little town, with a population of 750 people. As a child who grew up there, I knew much about how my parents relied on other members of the community to help raise me and my 16 brothers and sisters.

First, there was Izikule, our next-door neighbor to the right. He was an amicable fellow; always smiling and waving at us as we rode our bikes past his house. Whenever our mother and father were going out for the night, they would hire Izikule to babysit. Sometimes, the job was vexatious with all of us running around and jumping on the furniture, but Izikule never gave up and still babysits us when we need him to.

Then there was Xorax, our next-door neighbor to the left. He was nefarious and whenever we rode our bikes past his house, he would scream and holler evil things at us. On a few occasions, my brothers and sisters and I caught him peeping out his window while we were playing in the yard, scrutinizing us and trying to get us in trouble. However, if it weren’t for him, perhaps my siblings and I wouldn’t have the discipline we learned from trying not to upset Mr. Xorax.

And how could I forget Mrs. Haronara? She was the best doctor within 250 miles of Zemulan! She was astute, which made her successful in her practices, and when five of my brothers had different maladies, she was there promptly to treat them. Not to mention, she did volunteer work, and solicited donations for her church each week. She was a very powerful solicitor, and was loath to take “no” for an answer. At all the town meetings, she advocated for things beneficial to kids, like better lunch programs at school, free tutoring in the afternoons, and more scholarships for college-bound students.

Without each and every one of these citizens, surely my two parents wouldn’t have been able to handle 17 children by themselves. There is not one person in the community that is ineffectual in helping raise a child. Whether they’re nice, mean, smart, or dumb, they do their part and teach us new things every day. When I am older and have 17 kids of my own, I hope I am fortunate enough as my parents were to have a helpful and inspiring township like Zemulan.