Here in the Greater Chicagoland area, we're experiencing a thaw of the mounds of snow that blanket the sidewalks, streets and green spaces. We were hoping for a nice, slow, languid thaw, but instead, it appears that there will be thunderstorms and lightning tomorrow, dumping about an inch of rain throughout the morning which, added to the feet of accumulated snow, are setting the stage for Thawpocalypse: flooded rivers, streets, homes and basements. In the 10 years we've lived here, we've dealt with four floods, lost thousands of dollars worth of personal property, and have become more and more wary of the area - and have talked of moving with increased frequency. Not that we want to, but we just may have to, to preserve our collective sanity.
And now the troubling news out of Western Pennsylvania: Conneaut Lake Park (which I visited three times during the writing of my book, and slowly fell in lvoe with) will be sold in September in a tax sale. Many factors (summed up very nicely in this wonderful article by Susan Glaser of Cleveland's Plain Dealer: http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2013/09/charming_conneaut_lake_park_st.html ) have led to this, none simple to comprehend or easy to remedy.
The park's future is truly in a state of suspended animation. Should we fans of CLP prepare ourselves for the worst, taking our emotional easily-damaged properties off the floor, steeling ourselves for the flood? Or will the tax sale be a huge blessing in disguise? Will a caring party, wishing to keep the park and its history alive, purchase it and restore it to its former glory?
I'm still working on that Powerball win. And I know exactly what I'll be doing with a portion of it.
Until then, I've got photo albums to move to higher, safer spaces. And I've also got a park to visit this season, to pay it its due, no matter how the outcome of the sale unfolds.
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