Tuesday, November 11, 2003
New Deming Park Tradition
Conventional kid wisdom of 1949 had it that the truant officer drove a gray Plymouth coupe and we nervously hid ourselves from all gray cars without waiting to see if they bore the sailing ship Plymouth logo. With truant detours, it takes most of the day to travel the five miles between Cruft School and Deming Park on a school day but that's one of my first memories of it. Other memories are the stagnant pond, the ponies, the alligators and chimps and the train. Also the long sled hill that ran to the railroad tracks on a good day and the ice skating ponds in the deep winter and the steep cliff which fell to the back side of the front pond, Devil's Hill, are all part of my Deming Park memories.
Being newly retired gives me the feeling of permanent hookey playing without the fear of getting caught by any kind of truant officer.
Taking my grandkids to my favorite park was such pleasure Saturday that I repeated it Sunday.
The Oakley Foundation and many others put a new playground out there on the hill near Jackie's Garden. Take a kid even if you have to borrow one. They'll make memories of the park a tradition.
