Little Park of Horrors (nothing to do with soap)

rusty razorblade with park in background

noxious weed growth

decaying equipment

limbs next to playground equipment

rotting stump near swings

probable drug deal being witnessed by my daughter

more limbs

grafitti on slide

uneven footing

where I found the blade

*The following post has nothing to do with soap or Lote Tree business.*

It is a rant so if you don't care... don't read. If you a first time reader, know, I normally don't post things like this at all.

You all know I am a mother of 2 ages 1yr and 3yrs. Part of being a Mother is taking your children out to play at parks and doing fun outdoor activities. Apparently some people in the world don't realize this.

Today the kids, the puppy and I walked to Oakdale Park (Carbondale, IL) to play for a bit. Now, I don't neccesarily love this little park, but the kids do and so I comply and tote them down there about once a week or so.

Nevermind that the playground equipment always has grafitti scrawled over it, or the little bouncy animals are in desperate need of pain jobs or replacement. I even ignore the whispers from other Moms about it being a place where drug deals are done.

As we approached the park, I noticed that there were downed limbs everywhere. We did just have hurricane IKE remnants last week so, I can sort of understand... sort of (my 80yr old neighbor found time/energy to clean up their limbs for the city to pick up).

I knew to keep an extra close eye on Ayla because the ground is so uneven at the park she can't walk very well there. As it happens, after "riding" the paint chipped froggy, Ayla did a face plant and as I was picking her up, a glinting something caught my eye. Yes, INCHES away from where my precious baby's face landed was a RUSTED RAZORBLADE.

Can you imagine my horror?!

I grabbed my camera and took some nervous shots, trying to reference the blade with the park as proof. I tucked the blade away in my camera case and grabbed the children and did what I thought would be the RESPONSIBLE thing to do and call the City of Carbondale.

Yeah, there is a "pitbull and lipstick" phrase that is currently very popular right now. When it comes to my kids... I am more like a rabid, frothing, hyena in Birkenstocks.

"May I speak to whomever deals with irate mothers about finding rusted razorblades on the playground?"

Well after being given 3 different phone numbers I was able to contact a certain individual who we will call "Bob". This man, who by his own saying, is responsible for all of the parks matenience would not apologize nor admit any wrongdoing. Instead he blamed the city for the limbs scattered about the playground area and claimed that that particular park is cleaned every day.

"Every day Bob?"

"Yes, everyday"

"I highly doubt that Bob."

"Bob" Went on to say that we just had a storm and he can't be responsible for every cigarette butt on every park. He then told me I needed to calm down.

There is where "Bob" made his real mistake.

You don't tell frothing hyenas to calm down. Would he have told a man asking the same questions to calm down?? I highly doubt it.

This story is sadly, far from over but I won't confuse or bore you with all the details. I am expecting a phonecall from the Mayor over this issue... and if not, well, I guess I'll be calling more media. Here are some photos of the park, you judge for yourself if you think the park is 'cleaned' even on a regular basis.