Right next to Interstate 80, crisscrossing State Street, smack dab in the middle of the slums deep in the heart of my city there exists a park. It’s a lot, really, about 10 acres, which is meant to simulate a forest. Through this “mini-forest” runs a babbling brook complete with fish (carp and catfish I believe). There is a path in this park that winds and threads like a snake. You ever see that famous image of the snake that has eaten it’s own tail, thus forming a circle? Well, this path is that snake, only instead of a circle it forms a purposefully asymmetrical track that weaves around trees, over boulders, and cuts swathes through well-manicured grass. In fact, every shrub, tree, and patch of moss in this simulation has been diligently planned. If you’ve ever strolled through a real forest you might notice the random distribution of bushes, trees, and grass which are a result of the random distribution of seeds. One might notice the quiet war the trees wage with each other for sunlight and water...for the optimal position. This 10-acre lot, this simulation of a forest, this oasis in the center of the steaming concrete ruins known as the ghetto, is meant to appear random, and sadly fails in this task. From idea to blueprint to reality, some city planner may have had the best of intentions. However, when I jog through this park I can’t help but notice the eerie artificiality of it all. It’s kind of like watching the latest Star Wars installment and the passionless, hollow performances the actors give. Perhaps the local denizens cannot notice the difference? This park wears the well-manicured mask of a forest; it’s sole purpose to provide a temporary solace to all of the jaded, mask-wearing cynics - like me. I’ve noticed no animals live in this forest, not even birds, save the junk fish you might find in the filthy brook which vagrants piss in. Sometimes I wonder where this brook leads? There aren’t any lakes in the city, no outlets. Or perhaps, like the snake-like path, it is circular.
Like an image from an M.C Escher painting, this brook forever flows nowhere.
18 comments:
It was a nice thought, this park.
They say that if you shine up a turd, it's still just a turd.
whatever happened to the 10 things I never did but 3 I actually did post? Ashamed of being fond of listmaking are you? Isn't everyone really.
Aydreeyin. This park is a diamond in the rough. A chipped, dull, cloudy diamond, but a diamond nonetheless.
LeeLoreya. Lists are pretentious.
The image I'm seeing here reminds me of the dry creek bed look which is so popular in modern landscaping.
Yeah, there's rocks, but not much else in the way of a natural look.
I love what aydreeyin said!
Sar. It's kind of like seeing a good movie in a crowded, noisy theater. Depending on how interesting the movie is, if it is really well done, you are better able to suspend your disbelief.
There are certain spots in Central Park that succeed in this.
Sierrabella. The perfectly cut grass, lack of flowers in the flower beds, and unimaginative, evenly spaced tree positioning... it gives an almost institutional... sterile look. Don't you think?
My yard kind of looks like this. A cookie cutter "Edward Scissorhands"-esque yard.
As always when I read your stuff, I have a clear mental image. And yes, I know exactly what you mean about highly designed landscaping failing to convey a true "natural" feeling.
I'm glad it's just not a shiny turd. Shame about the bums pissing in it. You've got to love green in the urban jungle. I've always been fond of parks in the city.
Wordwhiz. Sometimes I wonder why people don't just lay astroturf down in their yards, it'd have basically the same effect.
Aydreeyin. Well you know the saying, you can't make an omelette without "breaking some eggs." It's not perfect, but it's got personality. I mean, I jog there about 3 times a week.
Sar. You understand it? Good. I don't even know why I wrote it though. It had absolutely zero relevance to the comment you had left prior... lol
Tacit. Damn, now you've completely ruined my plan to tie my meager possessions to the end of a stick and relocate to that love-commune out in Nevada.
On the flip side, I may now weed my garden and trim my edges with the utmost anal-retentiveness with a clean conscience.
Well, not every park can be a masterwork. I'm very grateful cities still have parks. I'm sure lots of aldermen have quietly contemplated selling greenspace a slice at a time to ease budget problems.
Digitalicat. Yeah, you're right...and why shouldn't they? Just think, instead of a drab, useless park, you could build a lovely strip mall...or better yet, a wonderful parking structure. I think this'd better serve the community.
we've got a great deal of green space in vancouver. it's one thing the city planners have never failed to embrace-- we're surrounded by ocean, rainforest, mountains, et al, so they've kept the city tree-lined and green.
i don't know how people handle living in true concrete jungles. nature gets me off. keeps me sane. tethers me to what's left of my reality.
my part of town has the least-nice parks in it, but i still love them. all my industrial wasteland shots come from around there, but still. we have a really cool park that's a reclaimed landfill, great for mountainbiking.
and coincidently, i posted a bunch of photos of stanley park yesterday, and have more to post later today. hmm.
i need to catch up on your blog, honey. i've been unfaithful. this is what happens when i get a life. i'll check in and read the next two posts later tonight as i relax with beer. :)
Read me. :)
(by the way, i always think of oral sex every time i see your cigar photo. freud so nailed me, so to speak.)
Steff. This park, although pathetic in comparison to the real deal, also serves to tether me to the dock, safely away from the raging waves of "real life.
Was the cigar intentionally phallic? Hmmm, maybe.
"this is what happens when i get a life."
Ah, you have a life now? ;)
Ahem. Getting laid, have a life, something along those lines, yes. ;)
I forgot about my oral comment until I saw a reference to your 'cigar' again.
Sigh, oral sex. My favourite. But don't get me started.
Steff. It looks like SOMEONE has the "glow." I can't see you across the thousands of miles of cable, but I can feel it. ;)
Glow? Fuck that. He's not that good. It's a hint, at best. No, I'm just reconnecting with the feisty love goddess of old. Forgot I had that in me. So, I'm still taking applications in the guy department, for sure.
Locally, of course, that is. But I love innuendo. Don't get me started. That's all.
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