I took some time out of my day yesterday to go to Gage Park here in Topeka. The park is old and has quite a history. It is the home of the Topeka Zoo, a working carousel, a miniature train ride, and many other attractions. It is well-attended and used by a wide representation of the people of the city.
I went to an area where there was a pond and sat under a tree on one of the benches. The train came by, about half filled with kids, moms, young people, and older riders. A lone goose wandered somewhat aimlessly, it appeared, around the pond. The carousel was busy and people were having fun. Robins and other assorted birds went about the business of raising families and claiming territory.
This is a good time of the year to do something like that. It’s not too hot, nor too cold. There are enough people to make the experience interesting (if you like to watch people), but not so many as to create the idea of crowding.
It’s also a good time to think. We all need more time to do that. We spend far too much time being busy and not nearly enough time allowing ourselves to process what we’ve taken into our minds. Today, take a little time to just sit quietly…on the porch, in your living room…in a park. Just think. No music, no IPod, no TV. Just you and your thoughts.
1 comment:
When our kids were little, we made several trips to Gage Park. We used to take along a picnic lunch, or if we felt rich, we'd stop at McD's for dinner. They used to have, but I'm not sure they do anymore, a couple of "roller slides" and an extremely steep fast slide that you had to be really brave to fly down. I climbed up to the top of it once and chickened out. But my kids loved the roller slides-they had steel rollers you sat on and you rolled your way down on your fanny. We usually combined this trip to Gage Park with a trip to the Kansas History museum. I hope my kids have good memories of these trips because I sure do.
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