Park It

Tea: White Monkey

Music: Classix Nouveaux, "Guilty"

Time: Night.

I went to Crestview Park, not far from my son's high school, after dropping him off for his drama performance tonight. (I'll see the show on Thursday.)

I shot a few pictures, stayed about 20 minutes ... and saw a grand total of one other person. She, for the record, was walking through.

On the way back to the house, I found Robinson Park -- a tiny plot, a block long and so narrow that not only could you hit a ping-pong ball across it, you might be able to throw it across. (At .27 acres, it's the smallest park with grass in Overland Park.) It's still not the smallest park I've ever seen. That designation goes to a tiny park, the name of which I can't remember, in my hometown. It occupies one point of a three-way intersection and would fit on my lot here with room to spare -- and I don't live on a big lot.

It, too, was empty. At just a little before six on a nice late winter day, with at least half an hour of decent light left, two perfectly good parks were utterly empty.

To those who crave solitude, as I often do, that could be a boon. On the other hand, if parks don't get used, cities -- always looking for sources of cash -- could use that as a reason to sell off the land.

I'm not on a crusade or anything. I look lousy in armor. But I'm going to shoot for spending one hour a week in a park -- a different park each week -- so long as the weather permits. I might be reading, might be writing, might be taking pictures. Who knows?

But I'll be there -- and I hope I'm not the only one.

Cup XLIV: And Reams to Write Before I Sleep ...

Tea: Earl Grey Bravo

Music: Suzanne Vega, "Tom's Diner (DNA Remix)"

Time: Morning

It's not quite deadline day, but the line is definitely getting its affairs in order.

I've an arts profile to finish, pitch letters to bat out to all fields, much audio to transcribe, and a double handful of fictional characters nudging me to move their lives (and afterlives) along.

So ... if I'm head down for a while, present in body but not in mind, don't fret. I've just stepped away for a while, and I'll be back.

But just because I'm pounding away on my own words and turning others' spoken vowels and consonants into ones and zeroes doesn't mean you should sit around and be bored.

If you're in Kansas City, get out and enjoy the glorious fall weather. Go to Loose Park, or wander among the outdoor sculptures on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum, or do some caffeinated people-watching outside at The Crave Cafe.

(But wait ... I have wireless and a laptop. I can get out of the house, too, so long as I get my work done while I'm at it. Permit me a short Charlie Brown dance of joy for technology.)

Today's story:

Robert Hitchens, "The Black Spaniel"