Musings on a Boulevard Summer
June is the month that ends all arguments.
Early mornings might feel like it’s still spring, but Memorial Day has called it a wrap and now the curtain is officially up for summer. Kids are on bikes riding to softball practice; teens are wrist deep into tubs of ice cream serving the first wave of tourists serious about seats on the train. And Boulevard residents are shoring up for the season, seeing “their” parking spot on the street take a leave of absence.
But don’t we love being Durango’s unofficial hosts to an international crowd eager to spend a few days in the paradise we are privileged to call home?
The Boulevard has been my home for nearly 45 years. I’m still gardening at the same house where my now adult sons were born, in the only neighborhood they have ever known. The toddler who was kicking away in the stroller when the Boulevard Neighborhood Association was founded is now before the City Council weighing in on legal matters that could impact the families of his childhood friends—folks who still live within our residential historic district.
Most of the homeowners have changed as the GIS maps prove we have welcomed transplants from more than a dozen states, but a core still hangs together in Durango’s oldest neighborhood. We love it here. We show that in our activism. Now some of the next generation, (the children of those who knocked on doors to have East Third Avenue placed on the National Register of Historic Places ) meet monthly around the conference table. Sometimes in the park the whole membership puts their heads together, hearing from officials, hosting others from Durango. They, too, are our neighbors. What happens to them, happens to us.
It’s true when they say “ The days are long, but the years are short.” Just yesterday I put in a call to Durango’s code enforcement on behalf of a member who has grown frustrated with the tall weeds at the rental property on her block. Feels a little like Groundhog Day, I told the officer. Haven’t we had this conversation before?
Indeed we have, he said. Then he thanked me, said that we could tackle this together, that the City, too, recognizes the pride and concern we share in this special neighborhood.
When I hung up I reminded myself that while the Boulevard is a unique neighborhood with special challenges, it is not that different from all neighborhoods in our charming, changing city. It is made up of a diverse group of people who want to come home to their sanctuaries each night, break bread, reflect on the day and retire to recharge their batteries for the next.
We welcome you to this first issue of our monthly newsletter, which will be a regular feature of our new website. If you are not a member of the Boulevard Neighborhood Association, stick around. Get to know us and learn how we came together, what we do and why.
Consider this to be your cup or morning coffee shared over the fence. Join in the conversation. We are glad you are here.
Karen Brucoli Anesi, President
Boulevard Neighborhood Association
