The Park . . .

For 35+ years my parents have lived across the street from "the park". When we first moved to the new house on Willamina it was the place in the neighborhood kids went to play (hangout). They had the newest playground equipment back then, like the animals that bend back and forth on a big spring, the merry go round, a big slide and of course the swings, really cool swings with long chains so you could swing really high. We were always trying to touch the tree limbs. We would spend hours going between our house and the park. When I was a teenager, it was a place I would sneak out of my bedroom window at night (don't read this part Mom) and hang out with my boyfriend who lived next door. Won't mention what happened there, but it didn't have much to do with talking :0/ .

Today the big trees are being cut down at the park. An arborist has deemed some trees are diseased and the remaining trees would be at risk to fall, so they are all being cut down. It's kind of sad I think. I am not a big treehugger environmentalist type person, but it did kind of bother me a little to see them being stacked up like firewood. The city plans on landscaping and replacing them with new trees, and I'm sure it will look nice, but they will be someone elses memories. Funny how little things like trees being cut down can get you thinking about the past. . . .