REFLECTION, Walk 49, Yr 2 (Walk #101), Friday, Nov 11, 2016, Veterans’ Day, from Roeding Park/Chaffee Zoo through cemeteries west of Hwy 99. On a beautiful, calm, somber Friday morning, 10 mindfulness walkers gathered in front of Chaffee Zoo inside one of Fresno’s oldest parks, Roeding. Walking out the gates of the park, walkers glanced inside Hmong Memorial Chapel to see people preparing for a Hmong funeral service. In the few streets that share space with both Hwy 99 and the train tracks, walkers were pleasantly surprised how friendly we were greeted by people sitting on porches, sweeping, making front yard repairs. Walkers commented that they had never been through this neighborhood, much less on foot to see the details of people’s homes and lives.
Sights: Roeding park, Storyland/Playland, cars coming through the toll booth and parents and children unloading from cars. Beautiful landscaping with rough edges, cemetery with family and friends laid to rest here (Andre the Giant is buried here), surprised at the number of cemeteries that blend together. Walkers chuckled at the cemetery direction arrows pointing up or down. Walkers were emotional through veterans’ graves marked with American flags (a walker’s dad was a WWII veteran buried here), Hmong/Laotian cemetery, beloved Fresno musician Kenny Hall’s headstone. Children’s cemetery was very emotional. Dry canal with trash and debrief. Walkers noticed an occasional oasis of well-kept landscaping in the midst of aging and un-kept properties. SPCA with large grounds and multiple buildings. SPCA barn for rescued farm animals including horses and goats. Juxtaposition of the peaceful and serene areas of the parks and cemeteries in close proximity to the hazards of commercial living; freeway, trains, graffiti, McDonalds. On Hughes, a grand Chinese entrance to an overgrown cemetery with one plot.
Walkers discussed the variety of headstones, people born in early 1800s, Spanish/American war, Laotian war, English, Spanish, Hmong, many languages and cultures evident in the names and histories etched into headstones.
A walker met Nadine who was sitting along the road on Hughes across from cemetery, her belonging and bedding spread out on a blanket. Nadine told a walker she’s been sleeping/living here for a while and then rambled incoherently about police, a woman with a knife, a woman holding a child’s hand…..
A walker met Clara who had walked through the cemetery ahead of the group of walkers. Clara stopped at the corner on Belmont and Hwy 99 and held up a “homeless sign.” Clara asked what were were doing, and when a walker explained that are a walking group that walks once a week, Clara replied, “I’m walking every day.”
Sounds: fluttering of happy birds in empty field, loud barking of dogs at the back fence of the SPCA, large rumbling trucks, loud noise of the freeway, distant noise of the freeway once into the cemeteries, tranquil and peaceful, large trees absorb freeway noise – turn freeway noise into distant waterfall sounds. Families arriving at Roeding Park/Chaffee Zoo and talking and making plans. Shuffle and crunch of walkers’ footsteps, stomping of our shoes caked with dirt. Small plane engines taking off and landing from Chandler airport. Gardeners’ tools, blowers, mowers, edgers. Semi-truck honk honk to walkers on the overpass.
Smells: yes, lots of noticeable smells! Zoo organic smells, dumpsters, putrid, sewage, food cooking at Hmong funeral, grass, damp, musty, dusty, freeway exhaust,
Walkers completed the sentence: I felt……. thankful and at peace, melancholy about memories of bringing her children to this area of town and now kids are too old and now conflicted by those memories. I felt….. excited to be a first time walker and also apprehensive not knowing what to expect. I felt excited to be with people in Fresno after just moving here. I felt happy to join in again after being away. I felt this walk brought forth so many items of interest that were thought provoking. I felt pleased to see this group representing community after being disheartened at reading Fresno’s master plan for parks -Roeding park represents some of the best and worsts of this community.. I felt very emotional and ‘not tiptop’ since Tuesday’s election results…. I felt the healing beginning and that’s how we move forward.
Post-election discussion was honest and respectful. Here are just a few ideas conveyed: Walkers expressed the full spectrum of perspectives following the election, from “hopeful” to “traumatized.” The rhetoric of the campaign will not turn into reality. Flags on the graves represent that this country has been through a lot worse and worked together to make improvements. Being able to participate with this group on this walk is a hopeful sign of community. This walk creates positive energy with people who are putting their feet on the ground. A walk like this helps us imagine what it feels like to be someone else. Get out and see people in their own living environments –like the woman on the lounger on her front porch in a tiny house tucked between the freeway and the train tracks. She was enjoying her neighborhood space. Walking in these spaces of Fresno helps change it from ‘me to we’. Even in tucked away and somewhat forgotten neighborhoods, walkers saw pride of ownership even in the face of economic hardships.
“I’ve never been to the parts of town we saw on this walk. I usually drive by quickly and don’t realize all that is here.” First time walker.
Closing: These are our brothers and sisters in Fresno. All of our lives and futures, whether we like it or not or would choose it or not, are tied together.
Facebook photo album: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fresnomindfulnesswalks/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1854289588191120
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