THANKFUL FRIDAY

Thursday

Just about a block down the street, there used to be this large overgrown patch of land that was often a dumping ground for garbage. It’s where people left old mattresses and broken chairs, tires, anything easily tossed from an open window. Then one day the city came in and cleared the whole lot. They replaced the overgrown unofficial garbage dump with a park. The did this in a few areas of my neighborhood. The parks are part of a pilot water drainage system designed to take the stress off of the street gutters and funnel that water into useful irrigation. The one they built to the south of me is bigger, includes a playground and a new metal art structure. All of the parks are filled with native plants that require little maintenance and have nice walking paths that meander around and through. The parks have been a wonderful addition to this neighborhood.

Two or three times a week, my walk with Josephine takes us through the neighborhood and includes a walk through the park at the end of my street. We see rabbits and snails and birds. Yesterday there were muddy deer tracks crossing the sidewalks. This week, Josephine and I have arrived at the park around the same time as a group of black women. This group of women range between the ages of thirty something to sixty and they come dressed for working out. Which is what they proceed to do. Someone sets a timer on their phone and the women start walking the loop of the whole park, round and round until the timer beeps. Some carry small hand weights. They all have masks and wear them. Every time I see these women, I smile and say “good morning!” and they respond cheerfully with their own chorus of ‘hellos and good mornings’. Josephine and I move on and leave the park to them, but on the inside I am high-fiving and cheering these women on.

According to the U.S. Department of Health, four out of five African American women are overweight or obese, which leads to higher probabilities of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. There are many factors, mostly socioeconomic, but a lot of it has to do with having access to affordable healthy options. Keep in mind what I said before. These parks are a pilot program. They didn’t start it in the expensive neighborhoods like Brookside or the Country Club. They started this program in the poorer communities. The city saw the value of investing in healthy spaces in poorer communities because when we create healthy spaces for communities, we create an environment for healthy living. Regardless of race. This group of women is proof of that. Every time I walk or drive by one of these parks, I see people walking the paths. These people are proof of that.

I feel very fortunate to live in this neighborhood.

BOLD SQUIRRELS

The squirrels in this park are no joke. They will come right up to you and steal your cookie.

14 Likes, 0 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "The squirrels in this park are no joke. They will come right up to you and steal your cookie."

The day before we left Boston, Michael and I bought some cheese, bread, a bag of grapes and a bottle of wine. We rode the bus for forty five minutes to get out to Castle Island where we walked in the Atlantic ocean along the beach. Then we bought a basket of fried clams and found a picnic table in a shady spot. We spread out our picnic and spent the afternoon grazing and drinking wine straight from the bottle because we forgot to pack glasses. After we washed the last grape down with the last of the wine, we loaded up and made our way back to our hotel room for a break from the heat.

Then it rained.

By the time we headed out to dinner that evening, the rain had stopped but the temperatures had dropped so that the evening was cool and pleasant. We decided to walk over to Boston Common after dinner and explore the park. We entered the Boston Public Garden first and I wandered over to take pictures of the pond while Michael wandered over to the water fountains. When I looked up to find him, he was standing there surrounded by squirrels and birds. It was like he’d just turned into a Disney princess. He looked at me and said “What is happening?” I slowely walked towards him and said “I don’t know, but it’s something pretty magical.” Turns out, the squirrels in this park are practically tame. You don’t even have to have a treat. All you have to do is get down on their level and hold out your hand like you have a treat. They will come right up to you. If you have treats, they will sit on your lap and eat them. I’m not talking about one or two squirrels here. Every squirrel in the park was bold as brass and would steel the cookies right from your baby’s fat little fingers. There are signs all over the park asking patrons to please not feed the birds, but nothing about not feeding the squirrels.

The park might need to rethink their “do not feed” signs.

Boston Common is Boston’s version of Central Park, though it is not near the size. At one point the Common housed Colonial militia, held victory gardens during the first World War, was a site for anti war and civil rights rallies and even the Pope performed mass there in 1979. Before all of that, the park was a place for the people of Boston to walk and for cattle to graze. If you go there as the sun is setting, the last few rays of the sun hit the tall buildings of downtown Boston so that they all look like they are coated in polished brass. It is a lovely sight to see. If you go though, beware of the squirrels or at least pack extra treats for them.