One of the reasons that I choose to walk with my children almost everywhere we go is because it is good for neighborhoods to have people walking the streets. It makes them feel vibrant. It is also just good for us. It allows my family to feel connected to people and nature. Every walk we go on it seems that we meet at least someone we know and exchange greetings and updates. We also always notice at least one thing about the environment that is different. This is important. I write this listening to the birds. Both of my boys woke up at the sound of the first bird of the day and while luckily they have gone back to sleep, the birds continue to sing for me and I am glad. In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring. The title refers to a spring without birds singing (due to pesticide, DDT in particular). In 2012 it is up to us to pay attention to our world. Are we changing it? For the worse or for the better? Our walks are a check in.
Last night for example our boys said, "Can we go on an after dinner walk?" Even though both my husband and I were tired and I had a headache; it sounded like a beautiful idea. The boys even requested the urban greenspace they wanted to go to. My husband and I looked at each other with a question. We have debated it before: the loop we take when we walk this greenspace takes us through a drug trafficing center. While mostly this activity has ignored us it has felt uncomfortable at times. We also have even had to detour the greenspace when teenage activities not appropriate for young children were taking place. Nevertheless, it is our urban park and in it are native plants that even I assisted in planting ten years ago. It is also a park where before we even get out the door S says "I want to sit on my log and rest when we get by the big tree." We all know this park. So we went.
The journey to the park was lovely. A friend pulled over in her car and talked to us. We talked and made our way up a giant hill and even though S kept saying he was so tired, he only required carrying for a short while. Then we wandered the greenspace. We were all in awe how in the past month everything had filled out. It was so green! And somehow all the green revealed to us new pathways we had never noticed. It was lovely. Then we were out. As we headed home we had to make our way down a long block which bordered the greenspace and we noticed two men standing, smoking, shifting back and forth obviously waiting for us to pass by. It was uncomfortable and of course the boys wanted to dawdle more than ever. When S said when we passed some stumps, "this is where we used to picnic," I was sure he was going to sit down and want a snack- but we went on. As soon as we finished the block I took a look back. The men were gone. They had disappeared into the woods. They were not hiking. A camp? A stash?
I wonder if it was wrong to go on this route? Mostly I think it was right. We just need more people doing the same thing. Enjoying the evening light. Getting to know neighbors. Listening to the sounds of our neighborhood. Solving community problems together and making our neighborhood safe and comfortable for everyone.
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