In the late 1980's, for about 15 years, I ran most days, early in the morning, when I lived in the city of Belleville. The alarm would go off at 4:45 a.m., and I would try to be on the road by 5:30, fueled by a couple cups of coffee.
The big advantage of running in the city was the streetlights, illuminating the darkness as I ran down sidewalks, often passing idling cars in the owner's driveway, warming up for the driver still getting ready inside the house.
Eventually, particularly on weekends in the daylight, I would venture farther, and one of my favorite routes was running Denton Road out of town, past Hillside Cemetery on my left as I ran toward the apartment complex. When I reached its far end, I would take a slight left on Old Denton Road, run down there, and often squeeze through the nominal barriers to the back entrance of Van Buren Park.
I would run down the hill, and as I reached its bottom I would pass Belleville Lake on my left, Willow Creek on my right. From the bottom, the road ascended again, and I steeled myself for the uphill climb, never my forte'.
Quiet, pretty, Belleville Lake, trees, water - it was a good run to and through the park.
In the VBT Board of Trustees meeting earlier this week, DPW Director Tom MacDonald said that the road had been washed out, a victim of gradual erosion, and that it needed to be fixed, because it exposed a sanitary sewer which needed to be protected from further natural insults.
Curious, I stopped by yesterday and took a few photos. I learned that Memory Lane had washed away, and if you weren't prepared to swim a short distance, you had to stop, right there.
Thanks goodness the project is in Tom's capable hands, and his fine staff. Shoot, if you replace the road, I might even begin running again.
No comments:
Post a Comment