(Excerpt from ghostwritten essay on Sunset Park, Brooklyn)
But recently, I was talking to an old friend about that park when we walked past it one evening. I told her how if I could I would’ve spent every waking moment in that park. That the second my grandmother finished working I would drag her out the door. I told her about the sun sprinkler and how I used to try and cover the spout, but always get soaked. I told her that I loved the park so much that when I had to go to the bathroom I would hold it in as long as I could. In the midst of telling her the stories from my childhood, she asked why I hadn’t been in a while. Without really thinking about it, I simply waved it off and said that I had grown out of kiddie parks.
She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the park, refusing to take no as an answer. We walked through the paths and I began to reminisce even more. We walked up the hill and to the playground. We walked around the building with the pool and back around to the swings. What amazed me the most was that the park was exactly how I remembered it. Not only that, but there were kids attempting to do the very same things I had. They were trying to keep the water in the spout and were falling while trying to do the monkey bars. They were twisting the swings around while still sitting and then letting it go. There were kids on the lawn, playing tag, laughing without a care.
It amazed me, how maybe eight to ten years later, there wasn’t that much of a difference. The kids were still there having a blast. There were the parents, bored, but happy to finally have the kids out of their hair and blowing off some steam. Then I began to feel remorse. This park was a huge part of my childhood, and just one day I decided it wasn’t good enough for me. If this park had feelings, it’d be hurt; it wouldn’t like me very much. But I couldn’t help but see the happiness of the children playing. That used to be me, but then I realized, there is always going to be another “me.” As long as that park is still there, there will always be children playing. This park played a huge role in my childhood, and now it’s time for it to play a role for another.
