Belle Isle Neglect

[Hamtragedy]

"B.b.b.b.but it's so much nicer than it used to be." "Bullshit. It was never that bad. You were just to terrified to come down here because of all the so-called riff-raff, and we all knew what that meant."

In reality, I think they're spending an awful lot of resources on "fresh-watering" the island, but it's been at the expense of a lot of other projects. The years long flooding and road closure on the eastern end of the island, as a result of the fresh-water project seemed to be an engineering snafu-"let's let all this fresh water in but install the drain last" Absurd.

The back fishing pier has been partially blocked off for over a year now.

There is an outbuilding behind the maintenance yard where the slate roof has been collapsing for at least three years...you can see that from the playground. Oh, the playground has seen very little maintenance in the last five years, although they did patch the large hole at the bottom of one of the "roller-slides" [[the one that works...the other one has needed lubrication for at least five years). And the rocking boat needs lube too. Basic shit here.

Oh, the giant slide rebuilt 15 years ago still not being used.

Oh, the water slides which divide the beach into two hasn't been used in almost a decade. But let's tear down a 130 year old building without letting anyone know it's in jeopardy. "But the beach is so much nicer." "Bullshit, you never swam in it till 2015, someone told you there was poop in it, even if it was goosepoop." And at least Parks and Rec staffed it with young lifeguards. The state took the stands out.

"But the trash gets picked up now." "Look here, it gets picked up every Monday, just like it used to." [[Shame on that church group for not bringing any garbage bags). -This is a pet peeve of mine.

So, is it any better than it was? Maybe, but the simple stuff still seems to be neglected. They are installing walking paths west of the beach. And I did see the eagle perched above Lake Muskoday in the fall. And kayaking is a thing now, but only back by the yacht club. The Saarinen pavillion seems to be devoid of paddleboats and the canoes seem to never be used.

Now that the state runs it, it seems visually the same, even if the perception exists that the island has been "cleaned-up." There are still out-houses next to the restrooms. The fountain is on partially [[where are the colorful lights?).

And is it me? Boy, people used to be a lot friendlier on the island. I guess white folks don't offer up a greeting first.