Things I Wonder

There are plenty of big issues in the world right now that deserve our attention: natural disasters, government spending scandals, Olympic victories and defeats.

But here at “Dang,” we are going to focus, this week, on the little things; the things that separate us from the beasts, and, in particular, the things that make this, your devoted correspondent, repeatedly scratch her head in bewilderment and ask, “Why?”

Here, my friends, are just a few of the many things I wonder as I make my way through the world every day:

First of all, why do so many people pick their nose while driving? (Maybe I should have put a little warning ahead of that one, in case you were eating your breakfast.) Seriously, this is like an epidemic or something. If I’m driving, and I randomly turn my head to look at another driver, the chances are, like, 1 in 3 that the person I look at will be rooting around up in there, and completely oblivious to the fact that I can see them. Do people think they’re wearing a cloak of invisibility when they’re behind the wheel or something? You’re surrounded by glass, folks. You may feel all alone in your little steel cage, but I really think you should know: others can see you, and you are totally grossing them out.

Here’s another thing I don’t understand: why, even when the sidewalks have been cleared of slush and snow right down to the bare pavement, do so many runners insist on running out on the road? This morning I had to veer across the centre line at least half a dozen times to make way for these danger junkies. Can I suggest that if it’s too “tricky” to lift your knees high enough to negotiate the bumps in the sidewalk, you might want to reconsider whether running is really the sport for you?

Readers who watch TV during the local supper hour newscasts may relate to this: why do so many car/furniture/jewellery/mattress salespeople think they are clever/funny/handsome/telegenic enough to write and star in their own TV commercials? The hilarity! The schtick! The mute button, hurry! You don’t see actors walking into these vendors’ stores and trying to sell a bedroom set, do you? They should really return the professional courtesy.

Why do some automated banking machines say: “It has been our pleasure serving you,” at the end of a transaction? You can’t fool me, banking machine! I know you don’t have feelings—although you’re certainly good at making me feel a significant amount of pain whenever I check my balance.

I’ve often wondered why everyone who is convicted of some heinous crime has at least one neighbour who is willing to go on the record to say that he “seemed like a nice guy”? Frankly, these neighbours may not have known this person well enough to really be commenting on his character. Also, it may be worth pointing out that people who commit heinous crimes may not, in fact, be sporting cloven hooves and sprouting devil horns, so they may be a little harder to pick out than some people suspect.

And finally, why do so many streets named “Pleasant” rarely live up to their name? I’ll leave this one for you to ponder for the rest of the day. If nothing else, perhaps it will keep you from worrying too much about the big stuff.

Enemy of the Common?

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Halifax Regional Municipality’s plan to upgrade the Halifax Common. My general take on the issue was that the widening of paved walkways and the creation of a “special events plaza” (involving more “hard surfaces”) were not necessarily bad things, especially if they made the space more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

I knew it was a bit of a hot-button issue, and I knew it would get a response from readers – and it has. I also knew that in my pro-pavement stance I was going to appear to be on the “wrong” side of all that was righteous and good, so perhaps a little clarification on my part is in order.

First, I am not an Enemy of the Halifax Common, as some of the “Friends of the Halifax Common” seem to think. Even though I’m not upset about the use of asphalt and the creation of “hard-surfaced entrances” – which the “Friends” reference repeatedly on their website – I still recognize the importance of public green space in keeping cities vibrant and interesting.

And I am not, as Mr. Ruffman (a board member of the aforementioned FHC) suggested in his recent letter to the editor, in favour of selling off all public lands, “clothing them in subdivisions” and paving them over to create parking lots. Sheesh. I just thought it might be nice to have a space where folks could hang out and hear some local musicians, watch a dance performance, maybe even sit out and see a bit of theatre in the fresh air.

However, that doesn’t mean that I think mega-concerts on the Common are a great idea. I don’t. Perhaps I should have been clear about that. And perhaps this will come as a surprise, but I actually think that “Friend” Beverly Miller made a great point in her editorial rebuttal to my column when she argued that the “events plaza” planned for the Common appears to be a bit of a red herring, designed to distract from the real point of HRM’s enthusiasm for these improvements, which is to get the permanent electrical infrastructure in place to facilitate big shows.

Frankly, she appears to be onto something there. As her letter pointed out, by far the biggest chunk of money allotted for improvements to the North Common in 2010 will be spent to create “permanent power for concerts.”

But while Ms. Miller and I agree that the Common is not the right venue for these extravaganzas, it’s quite possible that we feel that way for different reasons. I won’t speak for her, but my objection is based on the fact that the concerts are completely disruptive to the people who live in the area, and to the people who regularly use the fields. If I still lived within a stone’s throw of the Common and had to personally deal with the noise and disruption of all that set-up and tear-down, not to mention the traffic and crowds during the actual concerts, I would be apoplectic.

But mega-concerts notwithstanding, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The “Friends” want to protect what remains of the city’s common lands, and I get that. But great public spaces draw people in – locals and tourist alike – and that is not the current reality of the North Common.

My point is merely that we should be careful not to “protect” our common space to the point where it is of very little use to anyone.

Common Complaint

For about ten years before I moved to the little house I live in now, I lived within a two-minute walk of the Halifax Common.

During those years, I walked across that big soggy field twice daily on my way to and from work. I’ve calculated this out for some of my male readers, who I know LOVE numbers, and are already calculating this in their heads anyway: it works out to about 4700 trips, allowing for statutory holidays, two weeks vacation a year, and a couple of sick days.

My partner got mugged there once in broad daylight when a couple of doofuses tried to take her bag, which, fortunately, she had strapped crosswise over her shoulder. They ran off, red-faced, after she more or less gave them some anatomical/recreational advice as to how they could spend the rest of their day.

I remember once fearing that I would die there, as I traipsed across the tundra in the middle of a howling blizzard. I think it was Christmas Eve or New Years Day or something ridiculous, when normal people were not expected to put their lives on the line to get to work, so I was feeling doubly sorry for myself and seriously considering just giving up and laying down to have a good cry.

Anyway, my point is that the Common and I have a pretty intimate relationship. And the other point I really want to make is this: apart from being a nice quiet place to walk, and a good spot for a dog-walk or game of softball or Frisbee, it’s pretty useless in terms of anything else.

Unless you feel like climbing a bleacher, there’s almost nowhere to sit. The fountain is rarely on, and of course it’s stuck behind that huge, ugly fence. You can’t get a hot dog or a drink of water. So, unless you’ve got a dog or a game, or there’s a massive concert in the middle of it, there’s no other reason to go there.

This week, the Halifax Regional Municipality held a public meeting to solicit feedback on a proposal to make some changes to the Common. The proposal dates back to 1994, so you can see that these upgrades have been developing at the usual breakneck speed of progress in Halifax.

The plan includes some great ideas - improved landscaping, more trees, better lighting, upgrades to the sports fields, widened pathways, more seating areas, a redesign of the fountain, new kiosks, and allowances for public art. But, perhaps most controversially, the plan also incorporates a “Special Events Plaza” at the corner of North Park and Cogswell.

That plaza (and the widened pathways) will involve some paving, and the paving appears to be what most rankles the “Friends of the Halifax Common,” whose rather poignant motto is “Helping Protect What’s Left.”

I do agree with The Friends that the preservation of public green space is extremely important. But their position on this plan, as posted on their website, is that it “…continues the erosion of public open land by …(making) way for a permanent hard-surfaced plaza for concerts, using asphalt instead of permeable materials for wider paths on the Common and creating hard surfaced entrances.”

It’s not the usability, or the greater accessibility or the potential opportunities that interest The Friends, it’s the asphalt. I would argue that even if this corner is paved, it’s still “public” and “open,” and I would suggest that if a space is “green” but very few people are using it, it’s just a waste of good public space.