A Walk in the Park

I have been to 2 or 3 ball games since the Rays came to St. Petersburg. Obviously, I am not much of a sports fan. I would rather spend my entertainment dollar on a museum, concert, or play.

I follow the drama about the stadium, but really don’t have much interest in this issue. Aside from the traffic problems I have experienced in association with Rays’ games, I do not feel that I am personally effected by the presence of major league baseball in St. Petersburg.

What I do feel strongly about is that no public money go to a new stadium. There are so many services needed by the residents of the city and things that the city needs, I do not want tax money going into a baseball stadium: a new home for the Rays when there are thousands of homeless people here in St. Pete.

I recently began a routine of walking around the park in my neighborhood each morning. On these walks, I have noticed that the grass is well cut. The bushes and trees are trimmed. There is no trash on the ground to speak of. The garbage containers are emptied regularly. The park is very well kept and tended. And this is a park with heavy usage: a neighborhood pool, a dog park, extensive soccer fields, a little league ball field, a daily youth program, a recreation center, picnic tables, a playground, basketball courts, a small lake with a walking path, and tennis courts. There are extensive facilities and the park is well used, making it all the more impressive that it is so well kept.

To get to the park, I walk past a school and the school grounds pale in comparison to the park. On the school property there is trash and the grounds are not well mowed and maintained. Year round, it looks somewhat neglected. I realize that the school system is experiencing a financial crunch and has had to cut back in many ways. But so has the city. Yet the park looks pristine.

One day as I walked around the park, once again noticing how well maintained it is, I realized that there another facility that is in this park: The training field for the Rays. Ah, so that’s why this park is so well kept. I guess I am benefitting from major league baseball in St. Pete, after all. Maybe I’ll have a little more patience the next time I am stuck in Rays’ game traffic!