Life in the City

-by Sandra Simmons

It's a beautiful mornin' ahhh
I think I'll go outside a while
An jus' smile – excerpt from It’s a Beautiful Morning by The Rascals, April 1968

After a freak hailstorm followed by a night filled with flashing lightning and rumbling thunder, I awoke to air so fresh and squeaky-clean that I couldn’t help but wonder if The Rascals penned that joyous song following such a night.

The trees and buildings cast a crisp, darkened shadow across the skyline that was lapis blue with just a hint of cyan.

I love the arrival of Spring. As the sun begins its transition across the sky, the light is filled with brilliant, vibrant qualities. It’s magical.

What a beautiful morning to take a picture of the first light as it began to warm our cityscape. So, I slipped on patent leather pumps, slung my digital camera over my shoulder, and stepped out to capture life.

Just before dawn the air is so still that the aromatic scent of gardenia and jasmine waft all around me.

Except for the clicking of my heels on the concrete, the city was void of any human sound.

I noticed I was walking to the melody of the nearby songbirds relaying a morning report on where the best worms were hiding in the damp lawn. Or, perhaps they were singing their version of It’s a Beautiful Morning.

I reach my designation, Tweet Street, just as the early morning light begins to backlight the eastern hills. The golden luminosity streaks through the air announcing the arrival of a new day.

The linear park that frames the northern and eastern boundaries of “The Hill” is filled with native greenery and ten newly installed whimsical birdhouses. The freshly manicured grass, laden with water droplets from the nighttime rain, glistens like a field of emeralds.

The neighborhood is quiet at this hour, but soon children will return to the tot lot to enjoy a morning exercise of climbing and swinging. Moms will share stories. Furry pets will leave secret messages for sniffing on the brightly painted fire hydrants at the Dog Stations.

How lucky are we to live in an urban setting with such an exceptional oasis? And how soon will a ribbon of many parks become a reality? Do families find the parks replace traditional backyards?

I wonder…If we build, will they stay?

Even though Don and Cheryl Moore’s (The Brickyard) family is expanding, they have no plans of moving out of Downtown. Cheryl loves all the diversity and experience Downtown offers Logan.

Marie and Todd Ruth (Pinnacle) are looking forward to the completion of their “backyard”- the Children’s Museum Park. The active playground will give Melody and Scott a safe place to just be children.

Wade and Durhum Winfield (Little Italy) love the play area at Tweet Street. Nanci enjoys the convenience of doing errands to and from her sons playtime.

The Rascals couldn’t be more spot on: “There will be children with robins and flowers… lead the way.”-April 2008

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