It’s his park too

Our friend Aaron likes to ride his bike.

In fact, if you live in our city, you’ve probably seen him pedaling past. He bikes in any weather, wearing a helmet, a safety vest and his trademark grin.

I’ve written about Aaron before. He’s a very sweet young man with a contagious smile who has never let his disabilities slow him down.

Earlier this week, Aaron rode his bike to Erb Park, and sat in a swing, enjoying the warm sun and the people-watching opportunities the nice day brought him.

Second to riding his bike, Aaron likes to swing. Both activities are very therapeutic for anyone, but particularly for Aaron.

A woman at the park took exception to Aaron’s people watching and shouted at him to leave the park.

Having had the distinct pleasure of watching Aaron grow up, I know him to be a really nice young man who has never hurt anyone.

I will allow, though, that it might be disconcerting to see a grown man swinging in a park.

I would think that it would be even more troubling to see a grown woman screaming vulgarities at him.

Aaron froze when the woman yelled at him, and then he called his mom. He began recording the woman, who announced that she had called the police. In her ranting, the woman called him an “f-ing pedo.” I have seen the video and it is disturbing.

His mom, Amy, wrote about the incident and shared it on Facebook. As of last night, her post had been shared 180 times. I hope there are understanding and empathy in those shares, and 180 chances for our community to grow.

Several months ago, following an incident in it, I wrote about Erb Park. I urged people to get back into the park and to get to know the people there. I still feel that way.

Erb Park is Aaron’s park too. He should feel comfortable riding his bike through it and enjoying the swings in it. It’s the unhinged woman’s park too. She should feel comfortable bringing her kids to the park and watching them play.

How much better both of their days would have been if, instead of yelling at him, she would have struck up a conversation with him. It would have taken just a sentence or two for her to figure out that Aaron was no threat to anyone. She might even have made a new friend.

As spring makes its way to our little corner of the world, I hope we’ll all take more opportunities to meet our neighbors, to chat with people in the park and to wave to the young man on his shiny new bike who just wants to take it all in.