Archive: Opinions

I am not an outdoors person.  There are many dangers outdoors: bugs, rain, falling tree branches, smoke, bugs, things to trip over, thorny bushes that nobody planted, wild animals, bugs...  I really don't like bugs.  I don't like them in software, I don't like them in health, and I don't like them in nature.  I believe that everything has a purpose in life and the purpose of window screens is to allow us to enjoy nature without having to be exposed to it.  So it's a bit confounding to me that I have been to Myers Park three times in the past week and I have enjoyed it.

The first time was for the July 2nd fireworks.  Good music, family, friends, lawn chairs, and of course fireworks.  I loved watching the little kids dancing, and I loved watching the adults dancing.  I can't dance myself, but I like watching other people enjoy it.  And to judge by the expressions on their faces they were having a really good time.  It was a great thing to do that everyone in my family could handle.  I hadn't come out for a fireworks show in years, and it was really fun.

Next, of course, was the Lions Club chicken barbecue.  Lansing is probably the worst place in the whole world to be a chicken, but it's the greatest place in the world to get barbecued chicken, and the Lions never disappoint.  For dining the second worst thing for me is eating outside (the worst is buffets -- too much limp food, warmed over), so it takes a lot to get me to come out.  I probably would, though, even if the chicken were horrible, because you don't have to look far in Lansing to see how much the Lions have contributed to this community.  The fact that the chicken is delicious is the cherry on top of the cake wheel!

Last night was the first concert in the park.  I'm a fan of Finding Tomorrow, so I was glad they got onto the schedule this year.  It's a home grown band that is really, really good.  Lansing folks are kind of like that.  I started watching the television show 'White Collar' because Lansing actor Tim DeKay is in it.  Now I watch it because it's really good, well done, and fun (and he is great in it).  The Finding Tomorrow band members just graduated from Lansing High School, but at least two of them will be attending Ithaca College next Fall, so I have high hopes they will continue as a band.

The great pride the Parks and Rec department obviously takes in the park is obvious from the moment you enter it.  It is an amazing resource,very well done. It doesn't hurt that it juts into Cayuga Lake, but the lake has nothing on the park if you ask me.  It is a beautiful resource in its own right.

If this keeps up I'm going to have to buy a tent and a sleeping bag.  Well, maybe a camper.  Or a small portable motel.  Yes, indoor plumbing sounds good...  Because Myers Park is such a great draw for such a variety of activities -- swimming, boating, camping, volleyball, music, day camp, a piece of local history, and the MegaMoos ice cream truck -- that it is irresistible even to people like me who would normally rather be a potato on a couch.  Watching 'White Collar' on TV.  Enjoying nature from behind the safety of window screens.

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