When I was a kid in Salt Lake City in the late 1940s and early 1950s, I lived on Green Street, close to downtown and adjacent to the largest city park, Liberty Park. My park was huge, being about a half mile on each side. There were two or three substantial ponds where you could fish, hundreds of trees to climb, baseball diamonds, football fields, a concert band shell, rides, a zoo and a swimming pool. Everything was free.
In the summer, the Parks Department showed movies on Monday nights at the band shell. Hundreds of kids walked through the dark park after the movies were out. No body every got attacked or kidnapped.
We went swimming in the pool during the hot summer days. We fished in the ponds. We were lucky to have such a great place to enjoy. Our families often took picnics to the park.
When we visited Salt Lake recently, Sue and I drove through the park. It was full of people - people walking, walking dogs, skating, running, riding bikes, picnicking and just enjoying life. No gangs, no fights, just people having a good time. All colors, too.
Thank goodness some things don't change that much.
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