It’s Raining on the Tin Man

It is raining and I am in Oz Park again. It is raining because I was away all weekend, and this has been my first and only opportunity to complete this assignment. I am in Oz Park again because I have recently found myself here quite often, more often than I would like. Between my weekly walks, my team hosting practices thrice weekly at Oz, and my trips to Target, I am a frequent visitor. regardless of the weather, my walk had to be completed now. Besides, I do not mind the rain all that much.

Deserted

The rain left the park desolate. Typically, the park is bustling with life. From baseball practice, dog walkers, the playground, and the nearby schools, there is seemingly always something, or multiple things, going on in Oz Park. Not today. While it still hosted the same attractions, they were not being utilized. The playground, benches, grass, and sidewalks were lonely on this rainy Tuesday afternoon. I only saw one dog while I was there which is astonishing as it seems like Oz Park is essentially a stand in dog park at this point. Seeing Oz Park without its normal swarms of people highlighted the park’s importance in the community to me. Even when the weather was far from ideal, there were still signs of life in the park. A location like Oz Park, while it may not be the prettiest, is a prime example of communicative space. The Lincoln Park community needs Oz Park.

Playground

Until now every time I have come close to the vicinity of Oz Park, it was abundantly clear that there was a playground nearby. The laughs, cries, and screams of young kids playing echo through the surrounding area. Today, the playground was void of any living being, spare the squirrels. I had never really dared get a good look at the playground itself and it struck me as odd that it was constructed from wood. In my experience, most public playgrounds were a mix of plastic and metal. But I like the homey and well-loved energy of this playground. It clearly is a sacred place to the children of Lincoln Park.

The Cross Country Team

As I made my way into the park, a herd of runners flew past me. I assume they are the cross-country team from the high school adjacent to the park. It is a mix of boys and girls. They do not have the luxury of a raincoat and umbrella like I do. The rain is falling directly onto their skin. Their coach must be intense to have them running outside in this weather. As I ventured further into Oz, I continued to pass by more cross-country runners. It seemed like they were running laps through and around the park.

Statues

The Oz Park statues are not a secret but today they felt private. The Tin Man, Dorthey, and the Cowardly Lion all stood lonely and drenched with no tourists or children to marvel at them. I have seen tour groups posted out front of the Wizard of Oz statues, they certainly are an attraction. While no one was interacting with them today, the statues are an important stable of Lincoln Park.

Foliage

Something I miss about home is the foliage. In New England, the leaves turn vibrant oranges and reds. In the midwest, things are a little more muted. While some leaves did change with the season, they mostly only transitioned to yellow. However, while I was standing in Oz Park, I noted the foliage. The rain had knocked a lot of the leaves to the ground and made the remaining leaves still on the trees shine. The colors were quite pretty, they reminded me of home.

Before recently I had never considered how essential a place as mundane as a park could be. That is because I have never known life without social capital. My whole life I have had the privilege of access. I have lived in communities that had walkability and public spaces. Today witnessing Oz Park without life showed me just how much these shared areas are utilized. Without community spaces like Oz Park, I think Lincoln Park would be a completely different neighborhood.

Reading Response:

Communicative spaces are “places to interact, places of feeling.” A community with communicative spaces would have sound infrastructure, no segregation, political corruption, or overly controlled public spaces. This concept is related to the concept of social capital because communities with communicative spaces would have higher social capital. By having access to a place of interaction and feeling the social capital of a community is boosted. The reading uses Millennium Park as an example. In my personal experience Millennium Park is always bustling and busy. It would be rare to catch it not pulsing with crowds. This points to Millennium Park being a communicative space with social capital. It provides residents and visitors of Chicago with free public entertainment, lounging, and connection.