Reflections from Walk #38 – Northeast Fresno starting at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Alluvial and Chestnut. On a beautiful, fresh, crisp, blue sky Saturday morning, five FMWalkers began in the community garden of the Unitarian Church. The common theme of this walk was “big churches.” Within miles, we walked the campuses of: Unitarian Universalist, Islamic Cultural Center, The Well North Campus, Family Community Church, Northside Community Church, and the Fresno Buddhist Temple. And had we extended the walk just one more block north, there were three more big churches. Because FMwalks usually wind through neighorhoods, the size of these churches is definitely in contrast to the smaller neighborhood churches that are so frequent on our walks.Well groomed and shaded sidewalks welcomed us on the main streets and then into housing developments. See the photo album for Walk #38. After the silent walk, FMWalkers discussed the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings on this walk. Here’s a summary of their observations:Sights: majority of developed neighborhoods but right next to an undeveloped large empty lot or a single older home on a large lot. Single family homes. Group of girls playing in a front yard. Unfamiliar street names since they don’t go through to all of Fresno to the south and west. Same house model repeated. Houses with porches that had five steps up to the front door. Only neutral house colors. Landscaped sidewalks. Green lawns. Mega churches. New and newer model cars. 4 garage sales. a few American flags. Runners/walkers with leashed dogs. 2 jets passing with white jetstreams crossing. Tall crosses in the fountain of Northside church. A teenage boy on his phone with headphones standing in his driveway next to the silent lawnmower (he didn’t notice us pass).Walkers also commented on what they DID NOT SEE: no abandoned shopping carts, no loose dogs, no mattresses, no alleys, no piles of trash, no “in dis-repair” cars on streets or in driveways, only 2 barking dogs through a back fence, no front yard seating, no front chain linked fences, no apartments except one new apartment complex under construction.Sounds: quiet, birds, girls playing and laughing, geese, kids playing at The Well and at Northside Church, light traffic.Smells: roses, fresh air.Walkers commented that they did not smell any food cooking, which is very common in other neighborhood walks.Feelings: People seem private within their beautiful landscaped homes. It was pleasant to walk on sidewalks and through landscapes with no trash or barking dogs. With little or no front yard or front porch seating, there’s less of a community or hospitable feeling than in many other neighborhoods. Walkers expressed a feeling of safety here. Less concern about leaving valuables in our cars. This feeling of safety may be an illusion, but it’s the feeling expressed. Streets don’t go through so minimal car traffic or walking traffic (except for exercise). Neutral house colors are less interesting. In general, there’s less uniqueness on display. In other neighborhoods, Walkers are able to find ‘cut throughs,’ or ways to get from one neighborhood to another through an alley or opening in a fence. Walkers tried to find ways to cut through, but fences were well maintained with no way to cut through.At the back of Northside Church, the long back fence separated their property from the back of the Buddhist church property. I (Lori) asked a man setting up at Northside if there was a way to get through. He scanned the fence, and said no. He said he didn’t even know what that church was. I told him it was the Buddhist church. Walkers talked about the idea of a ‘friendship gate’ between the properties of Northside Christian church and the Buddhist Temple and Unitarian church. While this would also be a welcoming path for walkers and runners going from Nees to Alluvial, it would also represent a respect between different faith groups. Maybe someone will suggest this idea to those
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