Park by Terry's

From The Extended Group

Current revision as of 06:40, 12 February 2007

The Park by Terry's, also known as That One Park by Terry's House, P.B.T. and occasional simply The Park (by Terry's) are group identifiers for the park at the Richmond Beach library. Since high school this iconic landmark has retained its status as one of the most significant and familiar group hangout locations.

Name Origin

The park is generally thought to have received this series of names from Gavin, who would often suggest, while looking for something to do, that we go to "that one park... by Terry's house." This is perhaps the most famous example of Gavin geography, which relies heavily on comparative distances to people's houses. Over time variations on this title entered colloquial use, and "That One Park" remains the most consistent phrase of reference to this day.

Group History

As Jeremy's house declined as a location of assembly Senior Year (due to a variety of factors, most notably Jeremy's increasingly protracted sleep schedule) the shift was made to Terry's house as the default nucleus of group activity. After tiring of hanging out in Terry's basement (or Terry tiring of people constantly hanging out there), one solution was to go outside for subsequent enterprise. While the traditional Richmond Beach haunt was the beach itself, intrepid members of the group began searching for a more terrestrial environment from which to engage in their usual tomfoolery.

Early expeditions to the park Junior Year had generally facilitated much physical recreation, which was entering into the group's repertoire more and more as high school progressed. With the collective interest in Ultimate Frisbee reached its peak Senior Year, usage of the park accelerated accordingly. By the Summer of 2003 the Park by Terry's was undoubtedly the most frequent outdoor location visited by the extended group.

Geography

The park has a loosely rectangular structure, with its western edge looping around the back of the library itself. A cement walking path runs the perimeter of the park, with a fairly dense thicket of trees flanking the far western edge. A semi-permanent port-a-potty sits on the northern side for the convenience of park-goers. The park's playground was recently rebuild to feature more acceptable equipment, such as a spring-loaded dinosaur, and the much celebrated Tube.

Pop Culture

A satirical book cover[1] and excerpt[2] were published on the Brettseller's List about a fake history of the park, which combined actual Northwest history with group anecdotes about the park.

Taken from That One Park, by the House of Terence Lee

"Eventually, these urine-soaked grounds would gain a place among the venerated symbols of American pride, power, and manifest destiny. In 1907, Teddy Roosevelt declared the spot 'a pretty good place to do stuff, as long as no one has any better ideas.' Upon a visit to That One Park in 1908, T.R. famously shot dead a grizzly bear--or 'borkinter' as they were known to young Terence Jr., whose father 'Wild' Wyatt Cunningham Lee fought one of the last gun battles at the Park against Sherif Jones. So legendary was the strife between these two men that it is said when Mr. Jones purchased a 14 kilogram phonograph, Wyatt lee quickly acquired an even larger gramophone to show him up..."

See Also

• The Lifting Each Other Game
• Mobile