Dear Editor: Furman Park is my lifeline. I walk at least 2-3 miles to clear my head in the welcoming shade and the soft earth. The park teems with caring dog lovers, soccer and baseball aspirants, children on the new equipment and picnicking families.

Surround it is a track well-worn by ardent runners and growing numbers of the rest of us with hip and knee surgeries pending or in recovery. There is a bonding and a joy beyond aching feet and motivated dieters and those weight-loss walkers seeking relief from their personal frustration.

It is a community of thrivers that could easily make Kaiser Permanente credible.

But now a track is being laid over the forgiving turf, and it is being paved in Quickrete. Maybe finished in a year, this is to be used only by the ardent runners. Who thought of the rest of us? What about the sure savings of laying down the woodchips and mulch salvaged from city tree trimming?

Must we go elsewhere to thrive without jarring old, athletic injuries and neuropathy and arthritis?

Margaret Zeleny

South Gate

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Published: Oct. 16, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 27