A Day at the Park

Only two weeks ago there was snow. Today, it reached 75 degrees. And, since it was a Thursday — and thus, my weekly department conference call — I decided the best way to take that conference call was at the park up the street.

No, literally. It’s up the street. It’s five blocks (I just mapped it out by waving my hand through the air) and maybe three-quarters of a mile. I packed a lunch — cheese sandwiches! a package of Tastykake chocolate cupcakes! off-brand peanut butter sandwich cookies! a can of Vanilla Coke! — threw things into a box I’d need (pens, notepad, headphones), and drove to the park.

I used to go to this park all the time. There’s a field where I could fly my kite (though I need a new string for it). I’m not really sure why I stopped going to the park. The last time I remember being there was a few months before Blade Runner 2049 came out; I reread, for the first time since the 90s, K.W. Jeter’s Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human there.

There was a dogwalker there; her dog was taking a leak. It was not aligned with the north pole.

I got myself all situated in the picnic pavilion for the conference call, which lasted all of about fifteen minutes.

The writer, setting up for the meeting

I am, of course, not at liberty to discuss the topics of the meeting, but rest assured they were important topics, topics you may hear about in the weeks and months to come. Oh, and the 401k program, which is so anodyne that it goes without saying.

I did not do my impression of Michael Palin saying, “We are the Knights Who Say Ni!” Everyone’s eardrums are happier thus.

Not having been to the park in several years, I had not known that a Little Free Library had been installed. This makes three nearby that I know of — the one in Dallastown at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, one in Red Lion on George Street in a (Baptist?) church parking lot, and now this one in Yoe.

The Little Free Library at Yoe Park in Yoe, Pennsylvania, just off E. Philadelphia Street

It was a nice afternoon. After the conference call I enjoyed my lunch, boxed up my things, wandered around the park (which is not large), put my things in the Beetle, and availed myself of the swingset until I felt that queasy feeling in my stomach. Doesn’t everyone avail themselves of a swingset? No? Well, they should. They should.

Yoe, through the trees at Yoe Park

I could dawdle no more, and drove back home. Of course, driving down Walnut Street I was greeted with the “Trump 2024” sign of Aluminum Alloys. Not a lot I could really do about that, and there’s a limit to how hard I can roll my eyes without damaging them.

Aluminum Alloys and their "Trump 2024" sign

All in all, it was a good hour at the park.

It’s supposed to get cooler over the next few days, and there’s a slight chance — a chance! — of snow next week. But spring is effectively here, and that’s no bad thing!

Published by Allyn Gibson

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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