Fun For All

Each afternoon, around 2 p.m., a man walks by the front of my office. He wears a backpack, broad-brimmed hat, and a smile. Each day I wave to him, and each day he waves back. I don’t know his name, don’t know his story, but I marvel at the dogged determination to “get his steps in” because his steps look more painful than mine. He is missing the bottom half of his left leg, using an artificial limb to move quickly along the sidewalk to wherever he goes each day.

Last weekend, I was riding my bike down Main Street, headed to a trailhead outside of town. As I rounded a curve, I was met by another biker. I quickly recognized him from his daily jaunt past my office. His bike was different than mine—instead of sitting upright, he sat in a recumbent seat and instead of pedals, he turned a crank with his hands and arms to propel himself forward. I smiled and said “hi.” He nodded at me and kept on moving.

As I pedaled away, I once again marveled at this man’s determination to get outside and have some fun. I also wondered if I’d have the same determination if I lost my leg.

This issue is dedicated to helping you continue to create public spaces that are open and accessible to all. Parks and recreation agencies across our great country have worked long and hard to provide services and facilities designed to help these folks get outside, have some fun, and meet new people. The work you all do on this front is truly amazing.

To help you further that agenda, we’ve collected a host of stories offering up cool ideas you can use in your own agency. I hope you like them. If you do, or if you don’t, feel free to let us know. We love mail!

Till next month…

Rodney J. Auth

Publisher

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