Published: April 20, 2008 01:59 am            

Use your imagination

Last week my editor wrote a column about the many different things you can do in Meridian. After reading it I thought: "Wow, he missed a few things." He mentioned several different and wonderful ideas, including all the great shows at the MSU Riley Center, Meridian Little Theatre and the Temple Theatre, many places to shop and eat and others, but I came up with a few more.

If you're over 21 there are a lot more options, but what if you're in the 15-20 year old range and don't have a lot of money. It seems there are more limits for younger kids. Here are some of things I thought about after I thought about it.

How about getting up a game of basketball or baseball with your friends. Get involved with charities. LOVE's Kitchen, the Red Cross and many others welcome volunteers. Join 4-H. There are many activities this club is involved with, even if you are a city kid. Ask your parents to take you camping. If you don't have the luxury of going someplace, just pitch a tent in your own backyard. Cook some hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill and tell ghost stories by the fire. Use your brain: read a good book. Join a club at school. There are a wide variety of clubs available to choose from. How about spending time with an elder family member. You would be amazed at the great stories they can tell. When I was little I loved to hear about what the kids did without TV. Now a teen can find out what exactly an 8-track tape was.

Since Fredie covered the 21-39 group I'll skip that and go straight to the 40 and over group. Unfortunately I am almost in this group as I will be 40 in October. I have passed the age where going to a night club and dancing is actually fun. Trust me, I did plenty of that when I was in the 21-39 age group. But as I get older I long for the simpler things in life. Some things I enjoy doing — when I have the time — is watch the birds eat in the morning. I sit on my back porch with my cup of coffee and watch these crazy birds eat from the bird feeder. In the past few weeks I have seen an abundance of goldfinches. I know they are goldfinches because I bought a book on birds and looked them up. I know at one time there must have been at least 50 of them swarming around the feeder. It was a little scary. I felt like I walked into an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Something else I like to do is hang out with my family. I enjoy cooking supper and all of us sitting down together and talking.

I also like to plant things and work in the yard. Although I don't exactly have a green thumb, it makes me feel good when I can dig in the dirt, plant some seeds and watch it grow.

All of these are things you can do with the kids as well.

One thing I haven't done in a while is bowl. I love to bowl. My oldest daughter and I have had lots of fun together bowling.

My mother also enjoys bowling. She was in a league when I was a little girl. I remember she was pretty good. She turned 75 on Wednesday and is not able to do many of the things she used to. I know she loves to bowl, but with arthritis and other health problems, it just isn't possible anymore. I have thought about purchasing a Wii. I have seen how the game works, and even though it is a video game, it gets you moving. You actually have to swing your arm to make the bowling ball roll. I thought this would be a great way for me to do something fun with my mom and allow her to get some exercise at the same time. It's also something the whole family can enjoy together.

The bottom line is there is plenty to do in Meridian if you just look and maybe use your imagination. I'm sure I missed a ton of other things to do, but this was just off the top of my head. I agree with Fredie that there is always room for improvement and there are things in our city that need work, but there is plenty of good here.

And who says there has to be something to do ALL the time. Since we don't live in a big city there will be times when not much is happening. But that's OK. People should slow down every once in a while and stop to smell the roses.



Helen Reynolds is news editor at The Meridian Star. E-mail her at hreynolds@themeridianstar.com.

        

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