Enjoying spring in the park

I recently took a trip down to Palmerton Borough Park on a pleasant afternoon in order to get some photographs of people basking in the long-awaited spring.

I suppose in the back of my mind, I was searching for a Norman Rockwell scene, with kids playing baseball on the field, parents on picnic blankets taking in the sun, and young couples on park benches sharing ice cream cones. That sort of thing.

But from a more practical, or perhaps cynical, point of view, I figured I would find something different. Disinterested kids idly fiddling with their phones, lamenting to their parents about when this nostalgia trip would be over.

What I found, though, wasn't quite representative of either concept.

At one point, I witnessed a preteen having what appeared to be an incredibly frustrating phone call with a parent or friend about the absolute disaster of a time she was going through with her BFF. It seemed like the sort of call a stressed-out office worker would be having while downing coffee and chain smoking on a break.

On the other hand, there were a group of kids playing around in the stream. It seemed idyllic, and they appeared to be having a blast. Hopping around from rock to rock, splashing one another and shrieking in joy, the scene was straight out of a story from a senior reminiscing about how life was back in their time.

Granted, as soon as those kids saw someone with a camera, they hammed it up, calling out to have their pictures taken. They became positively giddy when I told them they might be in the newspaper.

That one really got me, to be honest. I wasn't even sure that kids were aware of newspapers anymore.

Overall, though, that afternoon in the park was a blend of people, personalities, and generations.

The picture that people paint of "the good old days," along with the concept of "kids these days," are both a bit flawed. Yes, some adults and children are more wrapped up in their social media presence than their own physical lives.

But maybe that kid who appears to be having a meltdown on a phone call is just trying to communicate her worries to a loved one who will listen and help.

It's perfectly normal nowadays to see teens obsessing over framing the perfect Instagram photo, just like 30 years ago, those same kids would be playing out the same scene with a Polaroid. The only difference is they probably wouldn't be taking so many pictures of their lunches.

Times change. Societal norms change, and incredibly quickly at that.

In the end, it seems that no matter how people change over the years, anyone and everyone can still connect on one point.

Nothing beats a warm spring afternoon in the park.