My wife and I decide to walk our daughter to the park. I head upstairs to get her a new pair of pants and some shoes. There is the snowsuit that she got as a gift from Grandma on Christmas. We only had one day of snow after Christmas here in Marysville after Christmas this year. One day, and it was only a half an inch or so. My daughter is two and a half, and next year she will be way too tall to wear it.
We leash up our dog, and we don our jackets and exit the front door of our rented two bedroom townhome. It exits to a small concrete patio with a little growing area, and then is fenced against the lawn. A few weeks ago we played in the lawn area. I got some of the kids living nearby to try to headstands and handstands with me. Last week, they posted a sign in the middle of the lawn, warning of pesticides. We don't play in the lawn anymore.
We take a short walk down the SUV and Truck loaded parking lot. This is not a rich area, but there are shiny new vehicles drinking copious quantities of gas here, all the time. There is not sidewalk that can get us to the street, so we have to walk down the concrete roadway. All of the parking spots, with there oil stains, will be cleaned tomorrow by our daily rains we've been getting, and that will seep down into the small river that runs through town.
We make it to the street, and a large number of vehicles pass back and forth. The only time that people use these walking paths is in the morning, when school age children are working their way to their morning classes. We pass the emergency station, then begin to cross the bridge.
The river is brown. One time I crossed it, and it was bubbling over, much like a dishwasher filled with the dish soap you are supposed to use for hand washing. There is a general warning out in Ohio; do not eat the fish from the rivers. The water is poison. Sometimes I see Great Blue Herons living on the water, but less than last year. The beaver is gone.
We make it to the park, and have to push the stroller over a rocky roadway to get down. It appears as if they hadn't planned for people walking when they built this park. It is also on a flood plain. Last year, the entire park was under five feet of water. That's ok, there was no snow this year, hence no flooding. There are two or three SUV's parked here, and some kids running around. We tie up our dog, and set our daughter free amongst the toys.
Around the toys, there is a generous border of wood chips, and a plastic retaining wall. Around that is a grassy field extending north, and west to the river. There are no dandelions. None at all. No plants other than grass. Perhaps it is best that we not play in this grass either.
My wife swings while I push my daughter on her own swing. As the sun sets, everyone begins to leave. We pack up, head home, and hope that one day, we can leave this place, and go someplace where people have a modicum of respect for their land, air, and water. I am not interested in trying to change the perspective of these people; I am not eloquent, or a leader. I just want someplace where I know my daughter won't be poisoned. That place is not Ohio.
It is just that right now, we cannot afford to leave.