If you live in Tampa, then you know that a young man, 13 yr. old Stephen Tomlinson, was killed in Logan Gate Park in 2005. The story has been all over the news again recently when the man accused of that crime was on trial. That is not what this story is about.
Unfortunately, the trial brought back the bad publicity, and that’s a shame. How is a community to recover if it is repeatedly thrust into the spotlight for the same single incident?
Well, the Tampa Tribune recently ran an article about Nick Valentine’s successful efforts to do just that. According to that article, Nick is a stay-at-home dad who moved into that neighborhood a few months ago. When he tried to play basketball at Logan Gate Park, there was a rough group there that was ‘owning’ the park, driving off anyone else who wanted to play.
Nick thought of a creative solution. He organized a series of basketball tournaments at the park, open to everyone, of course. I happened to visit the park with my daughter and our dogs during one of those tournaments. What a difference! On previous visits, we had both remarked about how sad it was that so few people used the park.
Well, not on this day. There were people everywhere, all ages, music playing, picnicking, smiles, laughter, lots of kids on the playground, lots of people playing basketball, and lots of people watching. Now that’s the way to use a park.
Nick took a negative situation and made it positive. As the Tribune article points out, on that day the park had a family feel. If bullies were monopolizing the park, and now people feel welcome and families are coming back, that’s what I call an equal and opposite reaction. It’s a lesson in how to deal with bullies, too.
Yes, there is a shrine in the rear of the park where the young man was murdered. That will always be there, as it should be, but let’s not roll up the park and waste it. Instead, let’s make it the kind of place where good things happen. That’s a much better way to pay our respects to the young man who was murdered there, and it’s certainly much better for the neighborhood.
You can run away from a problem or you can react with an equal and opposite reaction. That’s what Nick did.
To read the full Tribune story, click here.
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