The Observation Deck

http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/issue_pdfs/Observer_Vol_10_Issue_14.pdf

Wow, what a couple of weeks!

Maybe it is my age, maybe it is my attitude, maybe it is just a perfect summer weekend, but I love weekends like the last couple we've had. From the support shown to the Lakewood High School Marching Band, to the Independence Day Parade, to the Lakewood Project to the Fireworks, it was all just so perfect, so Norman Rockwell Americana.

It provided the perfect springboard for watching McKinley Elementary School being torn down. I have many friends who went there and who were upset by the decision to tear it down. It has been on the chopping block for more than a decade, maybe that eased the pain, but to be honest, I have never really suffered pain over the schools being torn down. As one person on the Deck put it, "They were old when I went there!" and I suppose I could say the same.

I have many great memories of the school, and my friends and teachers, but I lack the need to see the building. In its place will be a new development that has yet to take on any kind of shape causing anyone to say,"I want that!" But I am sure it will be fine and will fill up quickly. After all, property in Lakewood is at a premium, and prices are something else.

I have always thought that the best way to judge the health of a community is by how bad people want to live there. Well if that is true, Lakewood is doing well. A neighbor just sold his rental unit for 15% over the asking price, and had 6 offers all higher than what he was asking.

It is also funny, flashing back on McKinley, and the past, I realize just how little is left from my childhood, and just how little history Lakewood has left. Who knows, maybe that is a good thing. After all, history is for old people, or as one "hipster" said about a 30-something friend, "No, she was into antiques before it was cool."

Check out the paper, and then later take some time to check out some of the incredible galleries added this month already. 400 photos of the parade, 200+ photos and videos of the fireworks, 100+ photos and videos of McKinley coming down, and hundreds of photos from around town.

At the Lakewood Observer, we Observe, we Share, and we Discuss, in a communal effort to understand our city, and maybe even add to making it better for all, and that is exactly why we started this project 10 years ago. Party on, and please join with us. If anyone says, "Don't post on the Deck," remember, they are stifling your voice and your first amendment rights; a community is whole when it can talk, and the LO is best when many voices jump in. Make this the year you jump into "The Mosh Pit of Word Jazz," and tell us what you think.

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