News from The Roanoke Times -PARK EXPLORES LIFE ON SHOESTRING

News from The Roanoke Times -PARK EXPLORES LIFE ON SHOESTRING

All I can say is that this is a damn shame.
Cuz you have something better to do on a nice day, right?
Kids got another soccer game, lawn needs to be mowed. Maybe its time to mulch?

Get real - the "change" that half of Roanoke so desperately pines for will never occur unless we can support
what we have now.

Listen up Mayor Harris, City Council, et. al.

Take one of your vacant storefronts that the CITY owns, and turn it over to Explore Park for the summer.
Let it be an extant museum and visitors center. Provide the basics for them, running water - electricity. The very basics they would need to run the operation. Phones and such would be up to them. Let them interact with the people IN Roanoke, and guide them to Explore from downtown. The return would be obvious. You begin to open up a new support level for Explore. Even if they sell t-shirts or whatnot, maybe run guided tours of Explore with a rented van that shuttles people from downtown out. It's still better than (forgive me on this one) being stuck out on the Blue Ridge far far from the throbbing masses.

Im not leaving you out of this Roanoke County. You could DAMN WELL do the same thing. I have been to Explore twice now, and been here for a year. I listened with admiration as the man who essentially was building the newest structure told me of how he is doing it, how it was done, and how with minor minor modifications the structure could be made liveable. If I recall correctly, it was himself and another gentleman who were doing the main share of the work. Using tools either re-created or brought from home, they had raised the structure in a span of 6 months. Thats all on volunteer time. You could see the passion in his eyes, and love and pride at what they had accomplished.

But thats not important. And obviously those who find that unimportant will just as likely find whatever "art" they decide to put in the new museum unimportant. Sure it will be a novelty for a moment, a brief moment. Just like Explore is when your young and on a class trip (Im speaking from all the class trips I took in my life to Old Bethpage Village Restoration, and all the history I learned there - not to mention the cool stuff in the gift shop - the upturned sasparilla tree, which every kid got to take a piece of root to chew on... I digress), its different. Its something beyond your understanding at first - but then it becomes abundantly clear. Its History, and you've learned something. Drat!

Its only when you get older, and realize the sacrifice it takes to WILLINGLY give your time to a cause that you really begin to understand the meaning of Explore Park, and the countless other parks like it. Its not just a shadowplay of history past, its a connection to the very roots of history. When you work with tools as outdated as the Tandy computer is today, when you sweat and stink and are covered in grime but your happy. When you can turn your eyes to this 2-story home, with a fireplace, and know you built it against the tide of modernisim. Then you understand why Explore Park is important.

$618.15

I've seen what that kind of money looks like. Its nice, but not enough. And you worry, and fret. And you do think of the other shoe dropping. And you seriously wonder how long it can hold out.

Yes they are getting more money in July, but so what. All it takes is a weeks worth of rainy days, and your suddenly wondering how much longer. If something is not done to provide Explore with an outreach center, or even outreach capability in Downtown Roanoke - I forsee Explore having a shortened season this year. I dont want to be right. But like I said, a weeks worth of rain - it's not like you can just turn everything off when you leave at night.

Its not Edu-tainment, its passion. And that long sought after "understanding" I keep hearing about.