October 2020, while participating in cosmetology school from my bedroom, I heard a knock at my door. It was my neighbor. We'd never met before. From a few steps below, she started, "Hi, I'm Sylvia, your neighbor," and quietly added, "Sorry to bother you, but I think your passenger car door has been hitting my car. Is it okay if I show you?" I followed her to the garage and sure enough, my passenger door opened directly into the chip in her car's paint. I felt horrible and texted my younger brother: "Have you ever hit our neighbor's car with my car door?" "Oh yeah, multiple times," he replied immediately. I ran upstairs and snatched the $200 I had just made dog-sitting. I gave it to Sylvia.

A few days later, I heard another soft knock at my door. "Oh no, I didn't dog-sit this week," but Sylvia had a smile. She handed me a card and a wrapped copy of Dave Hickey's "Perfect Wave." We talked a little. She was from New Jersey but went to school in San Francisco. She was a fan of music and art and kept records of every book and movie she'd ever finished. I started parking further away from her car, and we became friends.

The first time she came over for a movie night, my brother, Billy, apologized in person and we hit play on 'Down by Law' by Jim Jarmusch, Sylvia's pick. I loved the movie and afterwards learned the importance of Jarmusch, America's auteur, the thief everyone steals from:

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to." -Jim Jarmusch

Oh, and the card. Inside was all my dog-sitting money and this note: "It's only fitting that I found a kindred spirit right here at home. I'm grateful too that when a stranger knocked, you took a chance and opened the door."—Phillip Dillon