Malls vs Parks

Once there was a time when people go to parks to recreate and socialize. That was the time of balloons and cotton candies, of family picnics and park walks, sitting on green fields , tossing a coin on fountain and enjoying the bountiful sunlight.

And then the city grew and parks were replaced with skyscrapers. People now associate recreation with malls. Fun is now defined as shopping, arcade gaming, restaurant dining, movie watching and strolling around a confined block of stores. And so most of the new generations become strangers to the world of outdoors.

I have three favorites of my mom’s best kept photos. One is my baby pic, the two others are our family pictures in the park. These park images are at least 22-year old photos. That park still exist but its usefulness to the people had fade away. People even made fun of it calling the park a dating area for nannies. Nobody’s taking their girlfriends or families in their anymore..not even the nannies.

There’s a lot of stigma brought by commercialism in today’s world. Whoever dates somebody in a park doesn’t have the money. It seems you have to prove yourself all the time with what’s on your pocket.

Maybe 20 years from now, I would let my 5-year old son choose his favorite photo. What could it be? Will it be our mall photos? Or our camping pictures — when we take him outside and discover the free world.