A Thing That Uses

I haven’t been getting out much lately, but when I do it’s to meetings. This has seriously cramped the possibility of my vying for the most interesting man in the world qualification round, although that is not a title that might even become a doodle in my mental notebook. I don’t really care for meetings all that much, mostly because meetings generally tend to be about planning to do something, while I’d just as soon be doing it, whatever that it might be. A lot of times it also involves striving for a consensus through compromise, which often leaves me quite out of the play of things.

One of the things I have compromised on lately is the use of the term “user” which is partly defined in the title of this ramble, the full Webster’s definition being: a person or thing that uses. I intentionally left the “person” part out of the title because using the word “user” as a placeholder for those who might choose to use the Vashon Park system always gives me the feeling that the human part has been left out of the equation. I am also reminded of a friend’s statement that whenever he hears of users, he always thinks of drugs. But while some people may indeed be addicted to an exercise or sport, the image of the crippled addict rises to the top for me, somewhat skewing any thought of a person in a park setting, no matter what they might be there for.

A user of course uses, which again may send one on a less than productive word association binge. The word “use” can be a positive thing if one is able to find usefulness and utility in whatever one might be using. There is also the side where an object of seeming utility might consume, spend or exhaust resources, funds or energy, not unlike a certain new field that some of us have found to be a somewhat less than sustainable model for this or any park system. While the debate over issues surrounding the V.E.S. fields has waned, mostly because it is now the elephant in the room rather than the one knocking on the door, discussion has now shifted to the so-called user fees being charged which allow people to engage in activities throughout the park system. There is much talk about what would and would not be an equitable system of establishing fees. What I am hearing also is an apparent desire for a one size fits most of it, across the board solution  so one sport or activity is not paying too much or too little with respect to any of the others. One could ask how an equitable balance in fees could be reached between, say, the baseball groups and the swimmers. With baseball season ending in July, and the Friends of Vashon Pool  now exploring ways to extend the swimming season, their respective seasons soon could be similar in length. But the pool was given to the Park District, via the school, for nothing with a $75,000 grant from King County to boot, while  the cost of V.E.S is somewhere in the mid to upper $2 million range and rising. So why shouldn’t baseballers be made to pay more to recover the costs involved in this runaway construction, not to mention the fields’ ongoing extra maintenance needs?

As with much of what happens on Vashon, we find ourselves to be participants in things rather than just simply to be users. In once again looking to Webster, a participant is seen as a person who shares in something. In being a participant, one does not just pony up a token to join in the fray, but they also actively participate in one way or another to help facilitate that activity or endeavor. As has been mentioned here before, the Rowing Club and the Paradise Ridge horse posse are shining examples of Island participation, as are Captain Joe and his Lighthouse Keepers. One must also mention the efforts of pool director Scott Bonney, whose diligent participation has been key in saving the Vashon Pool.

Earlier today I was watching a video of one of the first Park District meetings that I recorded (something that I try to not do an a regular basis) and was somewhat shocked to see  and be reminded of how many people  were in attendance back when the V.E.S. bushwhack was just starting to paint fans everywhere a smelly shade of brown. It should be said that the stain and the smell are still there, although not quite so bad as before, but the attendance count has dropped substantially. With both the 2015 budget and the 2016 expiration of the current tax levy fast approaching, it is imperative that more Islanders put on their waders and noseclips and participate in these Park District meetings every second and fourth Tuesday at 7pm at Ober Park. There are actually three benefits to showing up at these meetings, the first being that you get to upgrade your status from user to participant. The second is that there are cookies. And last but not least, with strength in numbers you just might wind up with the Park District you deserve. See you there.