Love for Memorial Field

Private spaces, public spaces — we need both kinds in our lives.

While most of us invite people into our homes at least occasionally, we also appreciate knowing that we can take refuge there, spending time just with our family members…or maybe even completely alone. While we may refrain from putting up “No Trespassing” signs, we don’t want just anybody wandering down our driveways and coming into our kitchens. And many of us also belong to organizations or clubs or schools where the payment of membership dues or tuition bills is required: certain people get to go there, a subset of everyone out there.

Churches Don’t Pick and Choose

As a faith leader, my husband works in a realm that is all about inviting everyone in.

Here he is, at a service up at Squam Lake earlier this summer. My neighbor and good friend Rebecca took this photo, because she and her husband and three kids happened to be staying nearby and so it was easy for them to attend on that particular morning. The summer chapel season is winding down now; Labor Day weekend in Sunapee always brings the conclusion, generally with soft breezes and a touch of sadness about lake houses soon to be closed up.

Here’s a banner from the church a couple of blocks from Rob’s office, downtown. The congregation strives to provide “A place to belong/ Whoever you are/ Just as you are.” No doubt many, many people have entered with no previous connection and found a sense of community here.

Parks Too Are Open, By Definition

Meanwhile, I’d like to celebrate another place, not far away and completely outdoors, that has does much the same thing.

This small, subdued sign greets anyone arriving to the athletic complex that is “Memorial Field” here in Concord. Located a few blocks from Concord High School, it is a sprawling area with a track and football field front and center and then tennis courts, basketball courts and many green fields — for baseball, soccer, lacrosse and anything the P.E. teachers want to offer to students.

Here’s a short, sweet video overview of the park, presented by a guy who has overseen the place, with a little history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKdawOeedxc

I thoroughly agree with Justin that the most wonderful thing about this park is that “It just brings people together.” People of all ages, races, income brackets, religious denominations. No matter where you live, I hope you can think about similar kinds of spaces in your hometown or region and be grateful for them.

The political scientist and Harvard professor Robert Putnam wrote a groundbreaking book called Bowling Alone (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000) in which he delves into the data showing that the level of our “social capital” — what we gain when we mingle with one another, somewhat randomly, in our communities — has gone way down. You can learn more about this important book here: http://bowlingalone.com/

Come for One Sport, Get Your Social Capital On

Generally, I head over to Memorial Field for tennis. This summer, the group of women I play with (indoors, for most of the year) have been meeting on Sunday mornings for a couple of hours of “pick-up” — mostly doubles, but sometimes singles, too.

Amazing, isn’t it — no pickleball lines!? That happens at another city park. We’re never quite sure exactly who’s going to show up (a couple of weeks ago, Suzanne brought her five year-old grandson, and he was a terrific ball boy and score announcer), how much of a factor the wind will be, whether a drizzle might turn into solid rain, or whether our good shots will outnumber our lousy ones. But chances are the clouds will be swirled in some interesting formation in the sky, and we’ll have a good time being together.

Sometimes, we see families streaming by the courts, chairs and maybe coolers in hand, on their way to watch a game on one of the fields; or we might see the young athletes, cleats clicking on the paved paths, returning from their contests.

Right behind us is the big football stadium: field, track and bleachers. Here is where scores of Concord High students have graduated. On any regular day, you can see people from 5 to 85 going around the track at whatever pace they choose. I like to run on the slightly cushioned surface sometimes, partly because I might be lapped by a cool-looking 20-something or be in the company of an over-70 couple who are clearly crazy about one another after all these years.

Some of my favorite times at Memorial happen when I go there alone to run and then hit against the backboard, located behind the tennis courts next to the basketball courts.

If, as I approach, I see a couple of people going at it hard on the court nearest the backboard, I don’t mind asking them if they could kindly move to the other court, allowing us all to co-exist happily there. And, if there’s a crowd in the stadium, I can always run around the fields instead, generally encountering people walking their dogs who are so delighted to be there.

Different Generations, Different Sports: What’s Not To Like?

Sure, the bathrooms (port-o-potties) aren’t the greatest, but everything else here gleams, in my opinion.

Just yesterday, when I walked in to take these pictures, I met a woman about my age who was on the very first field (used mostly for group workouts) with two of her grandsons, aged about 10 and six. They had some golf clubs and tennis racquets, too. The boys started hitting a few golf balls, but then the younger one let out a cry of pain: having not stood far enough to the side, he’d gotten pelted on the leg by his brother’s ball. His grandmother comforted him, letting him know that soon the pain would fade. Looking over at me with a smile, she said, “How about we try tennis now?”

At Memorial, all things are possible.

Is there a public park near you that boosts your spirit? I’d love to hear about it.