 I grew up in New York, and some of my fondest memories take place
in Central Park. It was our "backyard" and we used it for everything.
What magic! At the carousel--reaching for the golden ring, and at Pilgrim
Hill--sleigh riding in the winter, and simply rolling down the grassy hill
in summer...at the 72nd Street Mall -- walking up the Promenade from 60th
Street on Sundays to hear the Goldman Band concerts, and square-dancing
and jitterbugging on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Then there were the football/soccer/baseball
fields where we cheered on our brothers and boyfriends, and the 63rd Street
"diamonds" where I played first base on the Broadway Show League's
softball teams. I also have fond memories of...rowing at the "rowboat
lake" with my girlfriends, flirting with the boys on their boats...playing
tennis at the 92nd Street courts...jogging around the reservoir before it
was fashionable...outdoor dining at Tavern on the Green, a tourist spot
to some, but one of my favorite places in the spring. And what a pleasure
it was back in the late '60s and '70s to go to Bethesda Fountain and sit
in the outdoor restaurant at the foot of the stairs, people-watching. One
of the biggest thrills in the park is the Philharmonic concerts and fireworks,
which friends and I have relished since the beginning--first at Sheep Meadow
and now at the Great Lawn. The Shakespeare Gardens, the Zoo, the Rambles;
the list goes on and on, and now that I live directly across the park, I
continue to get great joy from it every day. Things have changed in New
York since I was a kid growing up in Yorkville--many for the better, a few
for the worse--but the park gets better and better each year. If asked why
I live in New York, my first response would be, "because of Central
Park." |
