My Saturday walk to the park

Springfield park. My refuge, my safe space, my home. I don’t think about sad or important things when I go to the park, I think about happy, exciting things like my birthday or my Saturday walk to the park.

At the park, I see many people, many faces, many activities. It's the weekend, so all the children have dragged their parents to the park so they can see their friends once more. Then there’s the elders who just want a breath of fresh air. And then there’s people like me. Just on my Saturday walk to the park.

Most people will wave or nod their head at me. But Mr.Jeffers doesn’t bother to do either. He isn’t apart of any of my previous categories listed. He is, well, different. I. Other words, he sticks out like a sore thumb. And I see him every time I take my Saturday walk to the park.

After I pass Mr.Jeffers, I always see little Timmy. His parents argue a lot, so he likes to take time away to sit at the park. He sits there On the third bench into the park and just watches. He watches the other kids on the playground, he watches the parents sitting in the grass, and he watches me, as I take my Saturday walk to the park.

Every time I go to the park, I see new faces, just waiting to tell their stories. I sit down next to each and every one of them and ask. Some ignore me, some y’all, and some just get up and leave. But you never know what they will do, unless you ask. And I do all of that on my Saturday walk to the park. 

Miss Natalie is the neighborhood nanny. She takes all the kids wherever they please every Saturday. And every time I see them, they all say hello. The kids take turns picking where they want to go. And every time it’s Josie Barrons turn, she always picks the park. She told me it’s just to see me on my Saturday walk to the park.

Then there sweet old Mary Aims. She loves to tell stories about her life and her ex husband Mark. And I hate to admit it, but she tells stories better than me. My favorite story is the one where she explains how she managed to get to Paris without her ex husband suspecting a thing. So I have her tell it to me every time I see her on my Saturday walk to the park.

The plants in the park are wonderful. There are all sorts of flowers, bushes, and trees. My favorite tree is the apple tree right next to the playground. The kids like to climb to the highest point of the jungle gym and reach for the closed apple to them. I’ve only ever seen someone grab one once, and they gave it to me on my Saturday walk to the park.

I love babies, don’t you? Every time I see one I just want to hug it till it’s mother has to take it away from me. But, as much as I love babies, I never want to have my own. I couldn’t stand the pressure and the responsibility of having a baby holds. So I just hug them, on my Saturday walk to the park.

I always take a snack with me to the park. Not for me of course. I give it to the homeless man that sits on the bench just across from the drinking fountains. His name is Owen Manson. He lost all of his money after gambling in Vegas for too long. He regrets it only because he lost his wife. I believe he wishes he had her back. And he told me all of this on my Saturday walk to the park. 

Sometimes when I see a suspicious looking person, I act like I’m on the phone with the police just so they leave. I would just hate it if someone got hurt on my watch. I would be absolutely devastated if any of my friends got kidnapped, or hurt because I didn’t take any precautions on my Saturday walk to the park. 

There’s a little splash park that is placed exactly 10 feet from the bench where Mrs.Lake sits. She’s a retired preschool teacher so she likes to sit on that bench and reprimand kids if they get a little too wild. I always laugh when she yells at little Susie for slashing water at the other kids. Cause why would it be called a splash park if you can’t splash? And she yells like this every time on my Saturday walk to the park. 

Whenever I see a bird, I throw some bread that I keep in my pocket at them. They waddle over to it and pick it up before anyone else can steal it. They used to look at me for more, but they only get a pinch and now they know that. And I do that on my Saturday walk to the park. 

At the park, there is a little skate park where teenagers hang out all day. They always wave at me and say “Sup” cause they think that saying it makes them cool or something like that. I always say it back and they laugh. Then I laugh back cause that’s what I do on my Saturday walk to the park.

My last stop is saying hello to the rabbits that live in a honeysuckle bush near the end of the trail. The mother knows I won’t hurt her babies and I know she won’t hurt me. We kind of have an understanding. It’s nice. I’ve named her babies Honey, Babe, Bun, Berry, and Lovie. I love them, I’m trying to convince my family to let me take them home. 

Once I pass everything in the park, I like to look back and take in everything I just passed. I look around and just watch. I watch like little Timmy and the third bench into the park. And I just wonder, what it will look like the next time I take my Saturday walk to the park.