Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Byram Park








In the mid 1990's, my Sunday morning routine during the winter months consisted of grabbing a coffee, roll, and newspaper in Port Chester, and taking them to Byram Park in Greenwich. I would usually spend about an hour here reading,  interrupted only by occasional glances at the harbor. With the exception of a few early risers, the park was a quiet and appealing place to start the day. Eventually the quiet began to disappear, and I stopped visiting. I never made a decision to stop going; it just lost it's appeal.
A van started showing up and the driver would rev his engine nonstop. No matter where I parked, he always seemed to be within a few spaces of me. Weeks later, a man began pacing in front of my car arguing with someone over the phone. He seemed to have the same argument every week. With time, the car stereos began to be played louder and louder.
I never could figure out what happened. Had the noisy guy in the van opened the floodgates by reving his engine? Once one person makes noise, the second and third feel less restrained. Or was everyone trying to drown out the other noise by increasing their own volume? Or was it all just a coincidence? I do a good job at recognizing human behavior, but I get failing grades when it comes to understanding it.

Byram Park includes a swimming pool, tennis courts, baseball fields, a beach, and a small marina. It is operated by the Town of Greenwich and a visit requires a permit from May through October. When I visited this week, the driver reving his van and the man yelling into his phone were neither seen nor heard.


7 comments:

Brenda's Arizona said...

You must have (had)quite a view! The harbor is PRETTY BIG. Thanks for the map link to put it all into perspective.

Jeannette StG said...

That first pic is beautiful! By the way, happy New Year! I hope the holidays treated you well, or are you glad they're over?

Human behavior never ceases to be easily understood - welcome to us who try to understand it:)

Unknown said...

Beautiful it is, but do not go in the water.
Sewage pollution from several sources, including Greemwich's infrastructure(Smell the storm drains) cause closures at a half of inch of rain.

Lisa said...

Blue on blue. So nice. It is hard for anywhere nice to remain a secret.

We always liked to go out on the boat to find that isolated nook, but often times we were the ones who intrude into someoneelse's privacy, mostly because anchorage spot was limited.

Unknown said...

Thanks everyone!

Jeannette,
Was in Boston for Christmas. Glad to be getting back into the swing of things.

Joey,
I am never there in the summer. It is more or less restricted to Greenwich residents from May-October.

Bethany said...

Love this little telling, and your peace and reading and looking out onto the water, but then BAM! I know just what you mean. Weird. Like the way you pondered it though.
Sorry your spot got ruined.
Here's to quiet spot with no revving engines or cell phones.
Great photos as always.

Sildenafil Citrate said...
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