Heather and I waited in line at the paint table in the pavilion at the park. It was 9:00, and we had an hour to spend before her swim lesson. Two of Heather's 5-year-old friends were in front of us painting small plaster-of-paris figures they purchased for 50 cents. We watched as Carolyn, our 13-year old neighbor, showed one of the girls how to brush to create a smooth, even surface. Carolyn was excited because she found a new mold, and made and saved 2 ballet dancers for Heather to paint.
Carolyn was a volunteer at the Pavilion. Each hour she worked earned her an hour at camp later in the summer. Her supervisor, an 18-year-old paid by the town, volunteered many summers, and learned leadership skills, arts and crafts, and how to work with children. Over the years, we watched both Carolyn and her supervisor grow in confidence and enthusiasm. We know both so well we trust them as sitters. I saw admiration in Heather, and knew that in a few short years, she would take Carolyn's place teaching kids to paint. Carolyn's supervisor plans to teach economics after college. I suspect her interest started here at the park.
As we looked around, I saw Christopher, my 8-year-old, ask to join a soccer practice that was running informally all morning. Some of the teenagers were teaching dribbling skills 1-on-1. Sharing and team skills were introduced as the group expanded. The teens were also a product of a strong recreational program, and knew instinctively when to switch activities to keep the group's attention, and provide challenge without the "I'm better than you" competition. One of the boys was shy and threw temper tantrums a month ago, but was becoming confident and known for his corner shot. He had been working on it daily, and the practice showed.
I watched a jump-rope tournament in progress that was the brain-child of another teen I knew. She presented her plan to the park board a month earlier. Together, they worked out the problems in scheduling and space, and watched as a new "service" began. The cost was $20 for publicity, ribbons for all participants, and new jump ropes the children could check out from the center. The teen was working on a point system to some award negotiated with the park board. Two others developed a puppet show.
Heather's swim lesson was taught by teens that had taken a water safety course earlier in the spring. The town sent several of the instructors to week-long courses in exchange for a pre-set number of hours of volunteer teaching. The instructors were selected from dozens who had applied and were referred from each park's recreational program. Next year, some of them would qualify to teach swim instructors, and the town would save money by holding this training in town. Tomorrow, our pool's staff hosts a "lifeguard Olympics" challenging other pools to silly and serious races. We won't miss it!
We ate sloppy joes served by teens as we listened to the summer city band practice in the band shell. I knew my 60-year-old trumpet-playing friend liked telling the 10th graders about his own school experiences. The school's band instructor loves the challenge of leading this year's crop of 20 flutes and no trombones, among other instruments. Some of his regular flute-players switched to other instruments for the summer, and they're not very good--yet!
I watch Chris from the large windows in the Community Center during open swimming. Someone's teaching them hand-stands in 4 feet of water. I see Heather on the playground with friends. While we watch our children, some of us are learning to knit baby booties for the neo-natal unit at the hospital. The assisted-living elders came over to teach us while they entertain us with stories and histories of the community. A toddler sleeps in an "adopted" grandmother's arms. We listen to chairs shift in the next room as the bridge club moves around. Tonight a weight-loss group and a teen movie-watching crowd share this building.
Our park itself is remarkable. Its' small and packed with activities, but it doesn't feel crowded. Streams with mounds of lush green trees and plants bubble between tennis courts and baseball fields. Benches and bridges are tucked in alongside. A pond stocked with fish is a highlight for small kids and elderly alike. It's maintained by middle-school students studying aqua-farming, environmental issues, and many other topics. Some of their work is displayed in the kiosk at the water fountain. Water for the pond and creeks, irrigation, and for cooling the buildings is recycled from the sewer system. You can read all about it at the interpretation center at the plant. It's half a mile down the path that connects our park to the rest of town.
This story sounds like a fantastic fairy tale to me now that I finally put it on paper. I wrote it based on pieces of people, places, and programs I've seen in my moves around the country.
Every element of the story above
is happening somewhere, in towns much smaller than Gainesville.
Some of you have similar memories of several generations enjoying
summer baseball rivalries and watermelon seed spitting contests.
You know instinctively what studies now prove, that strong recreational
programs lead to:
basic understanding of games, crafts, and talents
self esteem and pride
physical exercise habits to last a lifetime
leadership training, career exploration, and personal goal setting
a community that knows and supports each member, young and old
open discussions and understandings of cultural differences
Savings on police and jails just 5 years down the road
We as a strong community can easily fund programs as creative and inclusive as the one described above. The cost of the program itself is low, especially if compared to the number of lives it touches. The energy spent setting it up snow-balls as people see the results.
We in Gainesville don't have the facilities to begin a program as inclusive as this. We have old, unsafe, over-crowded parks--when we have them! We have YMCA and Youth Soccer where waiting lists are long, and playing fields are fought over and worn from over-use. J.J. Finley Elementary lost fields to new school buildings. Wiles Elementary lost fields to more portable classrooms. Leagues struggle for volunteer coaches that know the game and the value of sportsmanship and teamwork. Parents won't sign kids up because of the hours needed for driving to and from practices. No facilities are in their area. City leagues argue every year about letting the "county" kids play.
"Free" sports programs are offered in at-risk areas through various agencies. As well intentioned as this is, it segregates us into "poor" and "rich." Poor kids have the programs for free, and are specially identified as "Poor." Rich (and not-so-rich) kids may not have a program at all because of waiting lists or working parents. Or "rich" kids may have programs with far superior equipment and instruction, and risk the additional problem of snobbery. Providing the same programs for all kids--even if some pay and some don't--breaks down all kinds of barriers.
My challenge to you is this: Put your efforts and your community's efforts into building a program like the one I just described. Let it grow for 5 years. Open it up to all ages, and find the resources to include everyone who wants to participate.
I guarantee you won't regret this
program. I guarantee your crime rate will drop. Your jail time
will decrease. Your graduation rates, teen pregnancy rates, and
school test scores will improve. Your community moral will soar.
I suspect that programs like these are the difference between
Florida and other
states I come from with good childhood--and elder-care--statistics.
My daughter Heather turns 6 for real next week. What will Gainesville be like for her when she turns 12, or 18? Will she choose to raise her own children here? Would you? Have you?
With many others, I've worked on Kanapaha, my neighborhood park, for 9 years now. The grass-roots support of the park is tremendous. Donations, county and state funds built most of the "little" facilities from tables and shelters to swing sets. We've done a lot, and I thank everyone who's' given time and money to the project.
In our park alone, we need a pool and community center. We need government that's brave and strong enough to commit to extensive programs. We need other parks to challenge us, to build into friendly rivalries.
Kids tend to grow up to be what they see in their lives, not the sports and music heroes from TV. I am a CPA because my dad did tax returns for farmers. Mark, my spouse, is an engineer, not too far removed from his dad, a chemist. Other kids become cooks, trash haulers, teachers and bus drivers because this is what they see.
My son Chris is 10. This is the only park he's known. He wants to be an environmentalist when he grows up. I think this comes from experimenting with clean-up programs in our neighborhood and park. What would Chris, or your child, or the child from the "other" subdivision, want to be if he could lead and teach others in his own community programs?