Saturday in the Park

The lifestyle in any big city involves negotiating crowded sidewalks, dodging frenetic taxi drivers, and being jostled on and off the metro, all the while taking care to avoid pickpockets, motorscooters, and gawking tourists. Concrete, asphalt, and skyscrapers assault the eye, and one returns home to a cramped apartment to have one's senses assaulted by the neighbors crying baby and funky food smells. As one living in a city such as Paris is deprived of a backyard to cultivate and take the sun, or a place for the children to expend endless amounts of energy, a visit to the neighborhood park is an intregal part of the day. Every afternoon around 4:00, nannies and parents lucky enough to have the time at home push strollers of cherubic toddlers toward the nearest park and relax on a bench whilst the children play. Old men can be found playing pétanque, the family dog has a walk, lovers meet to kiss and coo. But the weekend is when the parks really come alive! If the weather is nice, this is where one takes the sun and enjoys a good book. Boys play futbol, those more motivated types jog around the perimeter, and ice cream vendors rake in the dough. Pigeons trawl for leftover baguettes, ducks swim leisurely in the ponds, and families enjoy quality time together, foregoing an afternoon in front of the television (as Americans are wont to do). The entertainment here is provided by amateur musicians, pretty girls, and spontaneous moments.....a child chases a bird, two dogs meet for the first time and size each other up, a boy chases a soccer ball gone astray. This is the quality of life that is Parisian culture, and whether you live in the city or the countryside, it is a habit that anyone, anywhere can benefit from!