What little stamp we leave

Reporters don't always write with the intent of deeply impacting the public; some nights it's solely about getting the information out.

I have a little more leeway as a columnist, yet I don't need to leave my hands to count the responses I've received to 2006's opinion. Sure, when I confirm letters or people spit out their complaints about something else, they often compliment the column. But aside from the brimstone breather who loathed my "Jon Stewart's visit helps erase the image of Columbus as a cow town" column, I rarely rate any reader comments.

But last week, I wrote a follow-up store on a column from early 2006 about a neighborhood's efforts to secure the last heavily forested acreage in an overdeveloped strip mall corridor.

I centered the column on the need for little parks tucked into developments and for residents to feel like they have their own patch of green space in the neighborhood.

For some added perspective, I walked through the little forest with the late owners' son, the trustee for the land. He came into town and we arranged a tour/interview, finally ending the two-month saga of writing this column:
http://www.snponline.com/COMMENTARY/weekly/4-12_wjmcolparkscolumn.htm

Ankle deep in mud and icy water, I saw a dense oasis teeming with life, passed by 20,000 cars a day yet totally unnoticed. It was March, so I could only imagine the bare trees in bloom. But I knew this was a place that had to be saved; the development had reached a point where someone might plunk down top dollar to drop apartments or tightly-packed houses on it.

But the city paid $90K an acre for it, and it is now public land. I don't know if I ever felt so pleased to write a story.

I doubt my column sped up any negotiations, but knowing the Recreation & Parks Department closed the deal was another reminder that if given enough time, government can work for its populace. It's just cumbersome and slow, that's all.