I was reading a post by Destiny at 28 square about Cottonwood Park and she made me think of some things, as she always does. (I remember the first time I saw her at City Hall, I knew she was awesome before I knew she was really awesome. She made me think about the history of the Eiffel Tower too just the other day. She is on my list of top fifty interesting people in Richardson, with Dave, Mark, Jason, Rick, Jennifer, Tom, Dianne, Ed, Chris, Nancy, JS, PH, JH, RA, DS, A... I might tell you about that later, but probably not.
About Cottonwood Park, I remember back before COR installed berms (those little hills) in the park. One of the biggest complaints was that soccer was being played in the park by certain people that certain other people did not want to play there. The berms would help prevent that. There was congregating going down (still is). Allegations of probably drug use. Complaints of children being bullied. There were accusations of outsiders (living in Dallas) using the park too much.
Regardless of why Cottonwood was redesigned, I do think it is a nicer park now. A hero of mine at the COR Parks Department really took the lead in helping redesign it and he didn't break the bank.
There are still complaints, but more about people being "panhandled" by those chucks (chickens + ducks) Destiny mentions.
Cottonwood Park makes me think of good things and not so good things. One not so good thing is I remember not too long ago when a man, "DK", who is into the Richardson political scene to a certain degree came and made a display of being thankful to the city for having fixed it up, letting it be known that it was good to have attention paid to the neighborhood, his neighborhood. But then oddly a few short days later he was going around accusing another neighborhood who was concerned about an issue in their neighborhood as being NIMBY's (not in my back yard'ers).
Odd, very odd. Of course, he had a political sign in his yard of someone who is very smirky, making fun of young people and women. I hope that is not the norm or a growing trend in Richardson for people to be influenced by other smirky people. Sounded like he was the NIMBY, not the people he made fun of. I guess he did not know that one of the neighbors he was making fun of had a longer history than nearly anyone in town of trying to make Richardson an even better place to live.
People in a position of power in the HOA, or on Council, (he is a board member), and anyone in general should be more considerate of their neighbors. (Including not being caught on tape saying that an entire section of the neighborhood should be bulldozed). Before that, this NIMBY guy had not acted smirky, nothing like that all the years before, but then he acted smirkier and smirkier. I expect soon, he might just smirky himself away. I know he has bad influences because the person he sits by at council meetings is a person who snears and rolls his eyes constantly at anything and anyone who he thinks he is superior to. This is a man who repeats what someone else has mentioned regarding the notion that he supposedly pays more in property taxes so should have more pull than the "average" person. They make it an unpleasant affair to try to be an active citizen at times because it can be a trial, however not impossible, to ignore their grunts, moans and constant assailing prejudiced remarks.
I really hope that people can stop and walk in another neighbor's shoes before they dismiss their opinions in such a haughty fashion. I could understand way better if he had been assailed or the neighbors he was mocking had mocked him or done something to him, but they had not. He said, "I never seen those people before." Well, just because you have not met someone before does not mean they are not a part of Richardson. This is a refrain of yet another Councilman who has said several times, "well I don't know who you people are." It would be one thing if it were just a bad hair day, but this is a continual attitude. Rude, rude, rude. Myopic. Selfcentric. This has made me and other people feel like being rude to them in return. I have been rude back to people who have shoved me. I can't say that I am proud when I do, but I have and probably will be. I have to go pray about that again. It is true that when power players dis other citizens, citzens start to get frustrated. There, so now you know one of the reasons why people can become frustrated with the local government scene. When they are treated worse than that, they then become wolves (because they have been wolved upon first and it is a protection mechanism and a way to fight back and to hold it off).
