Chicago has its commercial stretch downtown called “The Magnificent Mile.” If you have money to spend and time to shop, it is a pleasurable experience to explore the variety of retail shops there.

Our Holliday Park circle is another kind of mile, magnificent in other noted ways. Many people have walked this mile from Fountain Boulevard, venturing shortly onto Wildwood, and circling around to the end (or beginning) of Spring Valley. This is the living mile of talking and listening, of gardening and giving, of meditating and sharing.

This is the measured mile of exercise or bicycling that improves health and disposition, with neighbors from nearby offices, across the street from our co-op, walking lunchtime minutes away in nice weather. Hellos and smiles pop up and flourish as worries disappear.

This mile is remarkable for its lack of commercialization, with homemade chocolate chip cookies or stuffed peppers about midway through the mile—you must become friends with the person who has them! Some members of Holliday Park seek the aesthetic experience of inhaling and viewing the lovely roses in Lot 18 or the lightly euphoric scent of lilacs on both sides of the street near Lot 12. Walkers might wear jaunty hats and gravitate to the walkway under the tree-roofs that shade at least one-third of the mile in the co-op. Some place themselves openly in the sun, drinking it all up and taking it inside, to others and to their tasks.

The mile, of course, takes on the look of the current season: emerging greens of springtime, with daffodils, tulips, violets, lilacs, and flowering trees; the full bloom and beauty of summertime; the colorful glory of autumn; or the stark, brisk, and white cold of winter with its occasional soft snows that attract those who must play outside. People here at Holliday Park choose their favorite times to view this mile of ours: early morning quiet, the midst of daytime activity, a lazy afternoon, or evening-reflection on the day’s work.

Somewhere on this circular mile is a friend for you, or if you prefer, at least an acquaintance who knows who you are. It’s not hard to find the gathering places on this mile of co-op property: your friend’s house, the clubhouse Monday morning coffee (an old-fashioned financial bargain), the summertime resort-pool, the card and movie clubs, committee work sessions, and specially-planned social events.

You could live a full life, without a car, within our magnificent mile, as you take advantage of all its pleasures! You are here! Have fun!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 am and is filed under Holliday Park. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.