Of late I have taken to spending my afternoons wandering aimlessly around Gainesville on my bicycle. It’s just the way I practice my social distancing in the time of Coronavirus. This is my town and I like to keep a eye on it.
Of course these are not normal times. Not even close. So I’ve been stopping on my solitary sojourns to take photographs.
This is the Thomas Center. A previous city manager had this entryway redesigned and called it Gainesville’s “front door.” Which was kind of weird because it’s located in the back. Anyway, the idea was to present a friendly welcoming face to city residents.
But these are not welcoming times.
I stopped by the Duck Pond and learned that the neighborhood’s swans have been faring little better than us humans in this time of calamity. The female died last winter and the male has just come down with bumblefoot and has been taken away for treatment. We are all in this together.
Roper Park is a delightful pocket of green, pastels and primary colors. A place where Duck Pond residents can sit in the shade and watch their kids play. Closed now. But I saw a boy skateboarding in the parking lot of the church across the street.
It’s true. You can’t fight city hall. You can’t even get into it.
A reminder that we have already endured yellow fever epidemics. We can beat this.
On the plus side, we can hang on to those overdue library books as long as we want
Free stuff at Bo Diddley Plaza. But there’s a catch…
We will skip the obvious cliches about death and taxes.
Reminders of better times than these.
The way we were.
The way we are.
As life goes on.
My last stop of the journey: They closed our neighborhood park. Did they put up this sign to keep people out or keep Mother Nature in?
FreeGNV 