Yesterday was a super busy day with appointments and errands and helping Mr. FixIt do some stuff. We got a salad from Chik-fil-A and went down by the Ohio and ate an early picnic supper. The weather was cool and overcast which made the day’s chores less bothersome. I was getting ready to head back home when a friend posted a clearance sale for tabletop ice makers. I’ve been looking at those for a couple of years and finally found one I liked with a price I could live with so I ran to the store to get it. As I was leaving, Mr. FixIt called to see if I wanted to meet him at the park and walk. Man, did I ever!!! I’ve been working hard but haven’t really been exercising so I was quick to say “Yes, please!!!”
The City Park in Parkersburg is beautiful. When I was growing up, there was a huge lily pond in the park. As a matter of fact, it has been billed as the largest lily pond in the country, if not the world. Mr. FixIt and I have a running disagreement as to where said pond was located. I say it is where the current pond stands. He says it was over by the band shelter. He’s probably right because he tells a story about how he and his brother ran away from home when they were seven and nine and hid out in the park to evade the search efforts. He remembers losing a shoe in the pond. We think it was sometime in the ’60s when they tore the old lily pond out for some reason. I don’t recall why, but I remember clearly how beautiful it was when the water lilies were in bloom. My dad would drive us around the pond when we were little and sometimes we would stop for a picnic.
One loop around the paved outer road in the park is one mile exactly so I walked two miles and headed home. I fed the cats which means my finicky eaters delicately nibbled some kibble and left the rest for the possums. They will sit right there and watch the possums come up and eat from their dishes. I mean, really? I don’t get it. Mr. FixIt scared off the brazen little devil and tucked the dishes in a covered container to keep the yard rats out of them. I hate feeding varmints and I don’t know what else to do. I’ve taken to feeding the cats once a day. That way they are hungry, eat well, and there aren’t the leftovers at the end of the evening like there is when I feed them at night. Last night I fell for their sad-eyed looks and slinking around the back porch as though they hadn’t eaten in a month. Sneaky stinkers!
Today is a home day then I’m going to town tonight to hear the Alumni Acapella Choir perform at my Alma Mater for the Centennial Celebration. I’m really looking forward to that! Then Wednesday I’m not going anywhere. First time in weeks. I think I’m looking forward to that even more! ❤️
“I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,”
2 Peter 1:13 NIV
Shared experiences make wonderful memories! Like you and Mr. Fixit, I have great memories of City Park. My dad would take my brother and sister to school and then he and I would often go to the park to feed the ducks. We fed them stale hot dog buns from his store. While I did not loose my shoe in the pond, one foot did find its way in the water during duck feeding. I can still remember my dad telling me not to get too close, but kids will be kids. As I got older, we skated on the pond in the winter and went swimming at the pool in summer (before they built the one at Jackson Park). During the high school years, City Park was a frequent spot to take a date. But most recently, it has been the location of family reunion picnics. City Park is a special place for people of all ages.
Thanks for rekindling memories, through your writing ,and touching hearts and minds with encouragement, laughter and hope!
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Ha! I know about feeding all the varmints! We put cat food out & don’t even have cats anymore! The neighborhood cats & dogs come around plus possums, raccoons, skunks & foxes…?
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Opossums are a gardener’s friend out here in California. They eat snails, big slugs, and all sorts of insects. They eat termites, I was told. They are really benign as far as ‘nuisance animals’ go. Don’t leave food out (but do leave out fresh water somewhere for critters) and they’ll keep more to their nocturnal hours. To call them brazen devils is a bit over the top–they’ve been calling you a “most excellent and thoughtful human” all this time 😉
You are correct…I am a storyteller and exercised my vocabulary there. That being said, try going out on the back porch and unexpectedly come face to face with one of these slug-eaters that are the size of a Buick when it defends its coveted dish of kitty chow. You might come up with a description of that snarly hissing mouthful of escargot-loving teeth not so far from my own. ? Thanks for reading my windy stories! I love audience participation…and, animal lovers! ?