Park for Allie

When you leave my apartment complex, turn left, take the first right and pass the Ambassador, an Art Deco apartment building where Paul Newman once lived. Turn left, and there's Belmont Place, a road of surprisingly large Victorians. Go past the fences and lilies and roses to touch with your lips and you will find the Lt. Lia Playground. On the top level is an extensive jungle gym playground, covered with a round metal latticework, and a fountain spraying jets of water for children to splash. A lower level has a round concrete bench surrounding a tree before a memorial plaque. At my age, Nicholas Lia had been dead in Vietnam for one year.

Come to my park, Allie.