Nikia Harris is a contributor to Planet Arthur. Her specialties include music articles and lifestyle topics
I didn’t know what I was going to do Sunday to fill a morning slot that just freed up… Aria, my oldest daughter, went fishing with her uncle and cousins, and my youngest just passed out in the back seat. I guess grocery shopping is out of the question now… I notice the graffiti of signs promoting garage sales. So colorful, so lively.
I turn into the housing development that my brother and I spent our adolescence. Geyser Crest.
So many memories came to mind. The time Mr. Grasso brought me to my friends’ house in his Italian Ice Truck, The time John Freeburn, Rest in Peace, dunked the basketball for the first time ever, after I watched him practice for days. Triumph. He still lives on.
I notice the graffiti of signs promoting garage sales. So colorful, so lively. I get excited about “antiquing” – which is my fancy word for treasure hunting. It’s my favorite pastime, and it is prime season. And guess what? My car’s A.C. works, Joenah is sleeping and I totally have $20 extra dollars in my pocket I can spend.
I enjoy riding around my community to find these treasures, talking to the owners and listening about how they acquire such items. And I want to show you one that caught my eye today.
I asked the seller, “Why are you selling these? You can put them in the Saratoga County Fair as an exhibit, and win some ribbons maybe?” She replied. “Oh, I didn’t think about that?! That is a good idea.”
So I told her how I let someone else know of the very same idea I had last season, when a seller showed me a real life house phone, with a cord attached to it and everything. Remember those? Well, this particular phone had the metal tag with Ballston Spa’s Fire house, Police Station, and Post office number on it and it circulated around the mid 1900s.
Anyhow, this picture, according to the description, is from the 1800s. Yet it still captures the love, comfort, and guidance of a mother towards their child.
This picture resembles what I felt that day. Here’s why: I am a mother of two. I grew up in the Geyser Crest, my mother a single parent and in the workforce. I had a large group of friends living in the housing development. It was, and appears to still be, an amazing community to live in.
Most of the friendships I have made while residing there are still going strong. I remember when I could ride to the Wilton Mall for 50 cents one-way.
And I also remember when I wasn’t allowed to ride my bike to school, because there weren’t proper roadways to do so. I could throw a baseball from my house to the school, and I wasn’t even able to ride my bike there… Talk about trying to live the simple life.
Molly Gagne, the owner of this painting shown above, and a resident of Geyser Crest, has been trying to live the simple life for about 13 years now, and she’s getting the rest of her community to follow suit. The painting is nice. But what I’m about to tell you is going to be history changing here in our district, and I think you should be a part of it!
Molly told me about her house meeting she was going to have later that day after packing up her yard sale. She stated that she was very excited to meet some people regarding her bike path idea, which indeed has been in the works for more than a decade.
The City has taken over the project, and there have been many ‘bumps in the road’, but I feel if we get enough air on the ramp, we can send this bike over the water springs and stop this project skidding all over the place. Yet, I took notice this excerpt from a ‘letter to the editor’:
“According to the mayor it would seem that two properties, one commercial and one residential, in an effort to hold out for more money from the taxpayers are delaying the bike trail again. Saratoga Spring Water and 128 Geyser Road are delaying construction by holding out for more money than other Geyser Crest residents who already agreed to allow the bicycle path to traverse their property for compensation. Unless they settle within the next few days, construction will most probably be delayed another year.”
– Source: HERE
This is about OUR future. Ballston Spa, Saratoga, and surrounding cities are developing rapidly, and yet it is necessary to look at the simple things in life, which make things easier and safer for us to be connected.
Like the Mother and child pictured above, the 1800s and 20xxs differ so much, yet we are forgetting what really matters – in the ‘Real World’ – remains universal.
Let me make very clear – that this is my own opinion. Derived from a thought process that just came on a Sunday morning car ride – no one influenced me to write this story promoting anything or anyone.
This happened while I was mustering up thoughts about what to do with myself because both my children were occupied. So here we are.
My children’s future, your health, and a chance for everyone to live a healthier lifestyle are upon us… so let’s get it done! If you would like to sign the petition for creating a new pathway follow this link.
“Support for Geyser Trail Project”
LINK HERE
You are still able to register without donating, but that helps the cause also. Ride on!
Nikia Harris
May 24, 2017
