Recently I attended a rally organized by Suffolk County Legislator Wayne Horsely to save our parks. The rally, which was attended by hundreds of people, was held at Heckscher Park, one place earmarked by New York State to close, along with numerous others across Long Island.

I can only wonder at the workings of the state’s mind. These parks were created, not only to provide all visitors with the space and natural elements to afford them peace of mind, exercise, beautiful vistas the presence in which to commune with nature, but also to provide an environment in which many plants, mammals, birds, fish and amphibians can procreate and exist.

I wonder at the thought process of counting the low population of visitors last year as the measure of how many people actually use the parks when last year was one of the rainiest seasons in years – and most people do not picnic, sunbathe, fish, hike, play ball, jog, bicycle or mediate in the rain.

I wonder at the idea to close thousands of acres of pristine land when people have very little money to travel to vacation spots and instead plan inexpensive family events at the parks.

I wonder at the mindset of planning to close our parks because of fiscal deficits when the parks were kept open to the people during the Great Depression and that was a time of our greatest fiscal deficits. But then, in the 1930’s the government saw the benefit of providing open space and free natural amusement for people who had little money and fewer prospects.

Right now people are stressed. They see that their world has changed and that life is not as care-free as it once was. This type of situation is the arena that writers and philosophers have, throughout history, told us to “return to nature”, to “cultivate our gardens”, to “simplify”. Now when people have the time to gather their thoughts and determine what exactly is most important in life, the state will take away the natural place where humans develop higher thought.

When I was a child, I played along the shore of the Great South Bay and in marshlands and in woodlands all which existed near my home. Such places no longer exist; they are all developed. The only place that people have to foster the wonder of nature in their children is at a forested park: the wonder of a developing frog, or a herd of deer, to blow the fairy-like fibers of a dandelion or milk weed pod. Once gone, and they will be gone, because we can all see the step after closing parks – selling the land off, they will never be recaptured. They will be gone forever.

I am very saddened by this situation and I am going to call my state senators to tell them NOT to close our parks, that we need nature and space, that this will be devastating to our beautiful island because when the economy balances and the pendulum of life swings back to “normal”, the “normal” will be without the great and beautiful spaces that were meant for all people.