Central Park

Last night- well, I had everything done to the point that, by 8pm, I was finally able to go walking with Cleo. My entire body ached from hauling dead branches out of the underbrush around a client's tree, mowing lawns, digging, lifting plants, and the like, but, the moon was full, the sky was still tinged pink, and I was determined to head down to the harbor and amble along the boardwalk, and then the new sidewalk at Sandy Beach.

Plenty of people criticize the phrase, "If you build it, they will come," but, at least in the case of the Sandy Beach walkway and park improvements, the people- and dogs- have come in droves. There is a sign that says "No Dogs." I am not sure if that means we aren't supposed to walk our dogs along the path, or they just aren't allowed on the beach and the grass. Terry Pinto, our director of Waste Water Treatment, was instrumental in making this park happen. He used to call me up when I was running for council, and say, "Meet me at Sandy Beach", and I would show up, and there he would be, striding around, about to fill me in on what he thought could happen. That was a happy time, with all the neighborhood meetings, and Rodney and Ann in Community Development getting on board, the plans, the dreams. And now here it is, and look at all the people who use it!

Trouble is, I can't see the moon as well as I could if I were up in the little park at the top of the hill, above Buoy Park. This park is called, amazingly, Central Park. There's a little gazebo in the center, and recently I suspect Terry found some of those white plastic lawn chairs from someplace, so you can actually sit inside the gazebo now. He got Susan to open up a little path to the gazebo, too.

Susan is Susan Beebe, who is now on the Parks Commission, and has taken on Central Park as her baby. The park was planted with several perennial gardens, but, largely not cared for over the years, since no one had any time or the money wasn't there in the city budget. Susan has worked miracles, and the place looks as neat and tidy and full of plants as can be. She's got a sense of whimsy, too, as I notice a large tomato plant growing in the center of a herbaceous border, elegantly winding up a purple wicket. Everyday there is a new plant or twenty, I notice. Now there is a nasturtium along the path, and evidence of fairies, for who else but fairy scissors would pink out the edges of the petals of the pinks? Now, if you understand what I just said, you would have either read Cicely Barker's Flower Fairies books, or you would be old enough to know what a set of pinking shears is AND also understand that the flower called "a pink" or, Latin, Dianthus, has frilled edges that look as though someone took a set of tiny pinking shears to them, secretly.

I think that the previous options in the sentence above are as bad as the kinds of multiple choice tests that high school kids get to take. If you have trouble with selecting the option that is correct, first circle each option with different colored ink, then cross out each option as it becomes less likely. Remember, when you see the word AND in bold face, it means that both circumstances have to be present for the answer to be correct.

I leave off my internal fury at the state of public education for a moment and look at the moon some more. It's just poked out from under a cloud, and the water in the harbor is glowing and glittering. Turning to the mountains behind me, there is still a red and pink tinge in the sky. I love the long twilight of early summer.

Cleo is on to a scent, and tugs at me to head back down to the water. I linger a little bit because really, the chair and the gazebo look about right for how my back is feeling, but, my nine and a half pound mutt is in charge of where we are going and I am supposed to be walking. I leave off the roses and the brilliant fresh Shasta daisies, and follow the wiggling furry blur at the end of the warp line- all I had in the truck by way of a leash. She's sporting Rockland colors anyway- black and orange warp line.

It's tough on the boardwalk with Cleo, since she's so incredibly cute, but so tremendously ferocious. Everyone wants to pet her, and I have to calmly keep her stationed in a way that she won't lunge. If I have time, I politely explain that she is a rescue dog from a worst-case scenario, and that it isn't personal, but she is not safe to pet yet. Sometimes, I get enough time to really explain that, if the person wants to help, they can stand a little distance away and speak to her, so she can feel safe enough to get socialized just that little bit more. Sometimes it doesn't work, and I have to make a hasty exit with her under my arm and her head tucked in so she can't see what she fears. I don't know what it must have been like for her, spending day after day in a crate, unable to even get out to relieve herself. I'm thankful that her former owner realized that she needed better, and brought her to the shelter, along with her mother and brother and sisters. Very thankful. I know her former owner meant well and loved her, but just got into a situation where things were hard to handle and hard to work through, perhaps.

Cleo came to me unable to walk down the street without lunging at people ready to bite, without being house trained, and fearful enough to growl and lunge at everyone in the family except me. I truly didn't know if she would make it without having to be put down for being vicious, but, underneath it all, I knew she was just afraid. I knew that with a lot of patient work, eventually she would heal.

She's made amazing progress. She can make it down the street now quite calmly, and often will stand patiently while I chat with someone. She still struggles hard with Guy's employee, Zack, though yesterday only barked at him and did not lunge or snap. Zack is very patient with her. She loves everyone in the family now, and jumps on the bed in the morning with Guy, and allows him to play with her. He gets down on the floor, and plays a game where he tries to get both her front paws, which she understands. She's incredibly intelligent, and knows what it means to lie down and stay. She's attended a few city events with only a yap or two, and sometimes doesn't go nuts when walking past barking dogs.

Sometimes, people truly don't understand, however, and they think that if I just put her down with another dog, or make her do something, she'll get over it. They don't understand how far she's come, and they don't understand the level of training that has gone into getting her to where she is now. I don't blame the people, but sometimes I think it is hard for us to understand how damaging even a small amount of neglect can be. This past spring, the health teacher at the high school where I work did a unit with the kids on relationships, and we learned that it can take up to ten positive statements to undo the damage of just one negative statement. My little dog has a long way to go still, and she is teaching me to have faith, no matter what. Just four months ago, this dog was literally on death row. I think that there is reason to believe in the inherent good of all beings, and in the truth that we can undo and heal the mistakes of our past behavior.

Cleo and I make it past the boardwalk, and the Sandy Beach walkway, and from there on out it's clear sailing to Snow Park. There's so many people out walking and enjoying the evening. Harbor Park was full of parked cars, with diners at the new Pearl restaurant. Amalfi is cranking on the boardwalk, and the Boathouse is chock full of folks. I think about Rodney Lynch working to get the easement from Dragon so we can extend the sidewalk, and how imperative it is that we connect the dots between Sandy Beach and Snow Marine Park, for recreational purposes but also for economic development purposes. It isn't wasted money, if you think that before the boardwalk and Sandy Beach, there was no conception of restaurants and people in droves out walking and spending a few bucks. MBNA may have kicked in the major money here to start that process, but one can see where it could go: the rest of the way around the harbor.

This is probably too long of a post to tell you about my thoughts for economic development and skilled jobs relating to extending that sidewalk, so, I will take Cleo for her morning walk and tell you about that next time.